Fallout: The Metro
by Dragonkingofthestars
Summary: humanity does not go extinct in the metro, over 100 years passes. Call the Courier survive in the metro? Now Beta read by Scarlet Rabbit.
1. Chapter 1

_**I deleted this story then resubmitted, now its betaed! thank you Wolf Geyson!**_

_**This was the first one here now that its betaed well, lets see what the internet thinks.**_

_**by the way I've forgotten what i put for the Russian so don't ask.  
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><p>I watched smug though the dividing plane of glass, as Silus stuttered as Lieutenant Carrie Boyd told him the truth about me, that I was not a member of legion.<p>

She left the room with a chuckled and turned to face me, "good job, I would have loved to see you beat snot out of him, but you clearly a expert.

I smiled "just doing my job."

"here," she pulled a thick bag of caps from her belt "twice what we normally pay, but your a expert."

"thank you." I tipped my hat and turned to leave as she lit up a cigarette as she leaned against the wall.

Just as I was about to leave, I heard her say, so softly I may have missed it "now if only you could help with my other problem."

I paused and turned around "what other problem?" She looked up from her contemplation "there in the cell across from here, I was not going to bother you with it, I don't even know what to do with them honestly, follow me."

She walked out of the hall way and I followed with a slight wave to Veronica, who I left in the hall way and we walked across the hall to the jail.

After waving the two guards who prevented me from opening it, during my first look though of the building. She opened the door and a string of what I assumed to be expletives erupted from the room.

"Эй, мать ублюдок, я хочу, чтобы мои права! Выпустите меня! Вы свиной головы уродливый ублюдок!"

I gave a sideways glance at Lieutenant Boyd, who simple expelled a great gust of air and gave a gesture that was equal parts frustration and hopelessness "problem." she said simply and we walked in.

In the cells were seven men, each wearing NCR civilian clothing.The one man who had been yelling was standing up staring at one of the guards who was watching them over.

"We have been over this before, I don't know what the hell your saying, so SHUT UP!" the guard yelled back clearly he had a long day.

The man, looked young, and poorly shaved laughed and shouted back "Я не знаю, что вы сказали, но вы по-прежнему уродливым мать ублюдок! Твоя мать постели с козел, что ли?"

"Just SHUT UP!" the guard yell back

"Sargent Jackson! What did I tell you about yelling the prisoners?" Lieutenant Boyd said back. Said sargent Jackson stood up straight

"Sorry Lieutenant, but this little shit," he looked at the man head on "just will not shut up! Frankly it been getting on my nerves all day! Permission to go off duty, before I do something I regret?"

"granted go and get something to eat."

"Sir!" He saluted and left while the man gave a laugh"Я знал, что ты не имел позвоночник Вас!"

"Просто заткнись! были в достаточно дерьма, как это с вами из piling больше над нами!." A older man in the back said back.

I gave a look to Lieutenant Boyd "who the hell are they?"

"Life sure would be easier if I knew. All I know is that a ranger patrol found them out in the desert in a shoot out with Jackal gangsters, their weapons are in a wooden box over there." She pointed to a box in the corner of the room.

"The patrol supported them and the struggle was quickly ended. But when they could not explain them selves, at least in a way we can understand, the rangers quickly subdued them with no losses and here they are."

I turned to Veronica "can you make any sense of them?"

"No, never I've never heard any thing like it, maybe its a prewar language that survived."

"Lovely." Boyd said I walked over to the box and picked up the first gun from its cushioning of straw."

It was a crude gun, with a box magazine that stuck out to one side. Looked like it was made of pipes and parts of other guns, a bastardization as it were. After sliding the magazine out of the gun a couple times I put it back. I turned back to Boyd "any ideas?"

"Your guess is as good as mine, at this point I look for any source that could tell you about languages, assuming this is prewar."

"Right then, I'll get right on it." I stood up and stretched slightly, I already had a few ideas were to look.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Fallout the metros now betaed! thank you Wolf Geyson!**_

_**by the way I've forgotten what i put for the Russian so don't ask.  
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><p>"Christopher, your back, I thought you were going to stock up at Gun runners?" Blake asked as I walked up the dusty road that was in the middle of Crimson Caravan Company, base in New Vegas with Veronica close behind"I need a book Blake, not a bomb."<p>

"O well, if that's all." Blake said with a slight frown "you know just because I pull two medical books out of thin air does not make me a librarian.""Tough, the customer is always right." I said with a chuckle "I'm looking for a old prewar book on languages."

"Pre war language book? Not very high on the scavenging scale."

"I know, but I am willing to pay top caps for one."

Blake looked thoughtful for a second, then he snapped his fingers "got it."

He reached down and fumbled with his book rack "hold this," he tossed me a U.S. Army 30 handy flamethrower recipes, and kept looking for a book while I thumbed though the flamethrower book.

After thumbing though dusty books at the back of the rack, for a good five minutes till he he pulled a dusty book out with a smile and took the flamethrower book back, and put the new one in my hands.

"Got that one six years ago. Out of some prewar library, no one has ever wanted it, yet." I blew the dust off and looked at the cover.

U.S. Army Civilian Communist Interrogation Guide.

I opened to its first page.

"This book. The Civilian Communist Interrogation Guide, (CCIG) will teach you how to interrogate and provide actionable Intel upon from any and all Communists invaders."

I flipped to the table of contents, there were at least three languages, Chinese, Russian and East German.

"Threes better then nothing, I'll take it." I slammed the book shut with a definite snap.

"Good that be 200 caps."

"Wait what? This book has never been touched! I am the only buyer, in the whole of the Mojave!"

"You just said you were willing to pay top cap for it." He said with a slight smirk.

"Damn!" I said and grudgingly put a small bag on the table. "Pleasure doing business with you." Blake said as he took the bag.

"Ya, ya, I better get a good deal next time I come here." I muttered as I left to find a place to read my new book.

In the Lucky 38, I sat on the bed examining it, in the cool air conditioned room. I was currently on page 8, which listed a number of phrases in different languages.

When are you going to attack?

Chinese: Dāng nǐ yào gōngjí?

I said it aloud, I frowned it did not sound similar, like it came form the same language as the NCR prisoners.

I looked at the next entry.

Russian: когда вы собираетесь напасть?

I as I said it aloud, it sound much closer. I skipped other parts and just read aloud the Russian bits aloud.

Where are you troops?

How many of you are there?

Again and again the Russian sounded the closest phonically. I stood up I need a word with Veronica. I found her eating a sandwich at the table, none of my other companions were in sight.

"Whats up? Make sense of that book yet?" She said as she put the Gecko sandwich down.

"Yes, does hidden valley have files on Russian?"

"Russian?" she thought about "no reason why not, they had files on all sorts of prewar cultures, they were having computer issues when were were last there why is that what there speaking?"

"I assume, need much time to pack up?"

"No I have it all in, Hand." She said lifting her power fist up with a slight smile on her face.

"What did I tell you about joking?"

"Only if we were torturing why?"

After a three day slog though the sands. Christopher and Veronica were at Hidden Valley. Once more the door to the bunker was locked. After knocking a few times Veronica walked over to intercom and spoke into it "hello I am a representative of the New Vegas times magazine would you like a issue?"

"Veronica," the exasperated voice came back "are you ever going to use the pass word we gave you?"

"No not really why?"

"Errug." the voice said back and with a quick hiss of air the door slid open, and the two of us walked into the bunker.

Now the hard part, justifying why the hell were were here, the Eldar had given me a mission and I had not even gotten close to doing it yet, and I was going to ask for help from them.

Lucky no one asked and I never had to use any of the half dozen excuses I had planned.

Veronica lead the well though the bunker chatting with power scribes and knights as she worked though the base till she got to the archives.

"Hay Scribe Ibsen you need to stop working so hard." she said as we entered the room hunched over a computer.

"What?" He lifted his head up and chuckled as he saw her "sorry Veronica, no chance for that as long as this damn Virus runs havoc though are systems.

"Need a hand?" I asked.

"Yes I do, the damn virus keeps jumping from computer to computer, we can't stop it, we need to find it and lock it it keeps jumping from terminal to terminal."

I nodded "so I have to chase after it and lock it down?"

"Pretty much." He said.

"Sounds fun, I'll grab a Nucka-Cola." Veronica said as she walked off, to get some help.

The next half hour was spent reading the same damn message, as I try to chase the damn virus down from terminal to terminal. After I finally got the last terminal locked down I turned to Ibsen.

"Got the stupid thing."

"Thanks feel free to use the Archive, but you need a senior member to unlock topics for you."

As he turned away I spoke to him "I do need something from you."

He turned "I can't give you caps, if that's what you need."

"No, I need a Russian to English to translator program."

"That's, very specific, why do you need it?" He rubbed his chin in thought.

"I think I've run across some Russians and I can't speak to them I need a translator."

"Humm, as it happens, we have such a file but have never had need of it. No reason I see not to give it to you." He said as he walked over to a terminal and tapped some commands into it and it spat out a holotape.

"Just don't make me regret it." He said as he handed it to me.

"Thanks I said." I went looking for had a trip to Camp McCarran to make.

"Эй, что я делаю я пытался немного сука? пытаясь выяснить, если ваш компьютер спал с вами жена?" The rude man was the only one talking and the only one I could test this damn translator on.

I sat cross legged across from him my Pip boy trying flashing error messages as I tried to get the program to work, but it was being stubborn.

"Damn it work!" In frustration, I flicked the main screen hard.

"Не принимайте это на компьютере, я уверен, что ваша жена will leave you in any way!"

I started, the Pipboy spat out a translation midway though his sentence in a voice uncannily similar to a Securitron.

"Finally!" I pushed a button turn the mike on "Testing, testing, the great ape is first rate." Before I even finished speaking the Russian was spat out.

"Тестирование, тестирование, высших приматов является первый курс."

The mans eyes went wide. He spoke and the translator spoke it back "you understand me?"

"Yes I do." Was my response. The man started and turned back and started yelling, not close enough to the speaker for a translation but the tone alone said "hurry hurry!" the old man at the back of his cell stood up and ran over even as the other men were now suddenly interested in what was going on.

I was in a hurry too, I spun to a trooper behind me "Get Lieutenant Boyd tell her we can now understand them." the troop ran off to find her as the old man sat down in front of me.

I looked into his blue eyes, still sharp despite his age and white hair.

"Who are you?" was the question that not only burned within me, but almost all the NCR who knew of existence.

"I am Aleksey, Colonel of the Exploratory Ranger and Diplomatic corps of Polis station, and I request contact with the political body known as the Enclave."


	3. Chapter 3

_**Fallout the metros now betaed! thank you Wolf Geyson!**_

_** the 40 year old contact coincidences with the Chosen one destroying the Enclave oil rig)**_

_**Танкгорода is something like tank city or something take that as you will. **_

_**please review.  
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_**by the way the russian  
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><p>That threw me for a loop, the Enclave?<p>

"The Enclave have not been seen in the West for many years, why only now do you arrive?"

"Do you know how long it takes to find a fusion powered Chinese bomber?" he said with a slight smile that went away.

"More then that really, between the Nazis, the Reds, Dark Ones and" the next word did not translate so I had to take it at face value "Nosalises the Union is sorely pressed." he shook his head "on top of that the most common cause of death out side of mutant attacks is rickets! Pigs and mushrooms are not the most vitamins filled."

Lieutenant Boyd entered the room from a flat run. "What I miss?"

I turned to face her "seems Aleksey here," I pointed to the man in front of me "is a Colonel from Polis station and there Unions under threat."

"Wonderful, any thing we should know about them? How do they live? Where do they live? Capital?"

"Good questions, I put them to him." I spoke into the pipboy the response was surprising.

"We live in the city of Moscow, or rather under it. The atomic war between you and china spilled over and caught both Europe and Russia, not sure how Africa faired."

"What do you mean under Moscow?"

"Just what I said, under it, we live in the old Metro Tunnels under the city. The surface is deadly, less the rads and more the amount of chemical weapons we got hit with. We can not go on the surface with out gas masks."

I thought my next question over "what do you eat?"

"Mushrooms, fed of mushrooms grown off of shit and dead Nosalises."

"What is a Nosalises?"

"It's, hard to explain."

"Why are you here?" Boyd asked and I relayed the question to him.

"Were here to contact the one group of organized humans, we knew lived on the coast."

"The Enclave." I finished.

"Yes." he said with a nod "86 years ago, the radio station at Polis, our home station." he said as after thought. "picked up a signal, the first in over 100, not counting Танкгорода." the city name failed the translator. "then 40 years ago it went silent."

"That was 40 years ago, why come here?"

"We did not know what happened, for all we know there old prewar radio died, we only heard it due to are soviet made radio receivers." He seemed proud of that.

"Well the Enclaves gone, the NCR is here though."

"Well, maybe they can help us. We came as we need help, the Union is on its last the Reds and the Nazis."

"What's the Union you've mentioned it before?"

"The Union is the last bastion of hope in the Metro, all the free Stations banded together to fend off the encroaching army's of the fourth Riche and the Communists."

"If NCR did give you help, what would you give?" Boyd asked.

"Weapons." he said gravely. "when we took D-6 we have more weapons and bullets then you can imagine, machine guns, assault rifles, tanks."

Silence, not many got the prewar reference, but me and Boyd seemed to. Tanks, heavily armored machines with massive guns, that could maintain high speeds. They could grind the Legion to pause, hell even a single heavy machine gun would do it.

"I have to talk to my superiors about this, this is going all the way to Kimbol."

"Be that as it may, we need help now, the Union has only months left at the rate the Reds were advancing as we move troops to fight them the Nazis will roll right over us."

"Be that as it may." Boyd said "we can't help you with out talking to are President."

I turned my Pip boy translator off turning his reply into meaningless Russian.

I turned to Boyd and spoke very plainly and calmly.

"Send me."

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><p>"You? What can one man do to stop these 'Reds'?"<p>

"What can one man do to stop Legion? What can one man do to camp Forelone hope?" I said back and Colonel Hsu sighed.

"Always that silver tongue." Hsu leaned back in his chair.

"What will you do there? You don't even speak Russian?"

"I can learn, how hard can Russian be? As for what I can do, my damnedest." I said back a iron look in my eyes "nothing can stop me, you know that." I tapped the barrel of the fifty cal rifle on my back named after a old girl friend, Linka.

"If I can take Nelson out almost single handed what can the Nazis do?"

"What if their lieing, what if there the evil faction in this?" Boyd asked.

"Thats why you send me, I report to NCR what I find and you can make you choice of weather to help them or not based on that."

"First hand account would be useful." Hsu said then sighed "damn it, We can't hold them forever, fine you may go."

"Good, do you know were there going to go?"

"That we do know." Hsu said with a smile "a scout patrol by Camp Searchlight saw something odd by the Searchlight Airport and went to investigate, they found a old Chinese Bomber, or so our friend or foe air plane playing cards say." he placed one such card on the table and I picked it up, it showed the silhouette of the plane from different angles.

"Nice, so when can we leave."

"Sooner best as long as we get this problem off my door step." Boyd said.

"No reason to wait honestly, I let the men out of the prison and give them some really beds, but they get their weapons when they leave.

"I'll go inform them." since I was the only who could speak to them though my Pip boy.

I walked in to the cell room, by now the Russian knew me as the only man who could under stand them. I spoke into my Pip boy which spat the Russian out.

"The NCR will give you beds, real beds for the night and enough supples to get you to Searchlight," the looks of incomprehension met me "your bomber."

"Thank you Christopher." Aleksey said "but what of are aid?"

"Their going to pass it to their president, but their sending me, think of it like a diplomat, what I see will dictate what NCR does." Aleksey was frowning.

"Kid I'll be honest, the tunnels will chew you up and spit you out."

"Why not? Not like the Mojave easy to live in."

He shaked his head and spoke low and slow.

"Kid, you ever walk though a tunnel, black as pitch, a flash light in one hand a Revolver in the other, hoping, praying that you don't run into a mutant, or fall down a lurker hole?"

"I say again I can handle my self, if you want your help your taking me with you." I said

"Sure kid, mind letting us out?"

"Oh sorry." said and fumbled for the key I was given and opened the cells.

The next day we set out.

It was hard at first, I did not know any Russian, which was slowly fixed by the time we got to the airport. I have a feeling they said things about me behind my back the whole time.

The only incident were some feral ghouls around Searchlight, no challenge to the Russians who took them out with a quick bust of gun fire.

"So these are Ghouls? They get eaten by Lurkers in a week, tops." it was the loud mouth one, Stepan.

I scoffed there story's of the Metro did not impress me. We worked away though camp searchlight.

"Gas masks!" the Aleksey said and the squad quickly slipped some masks on from there belts and set dials on there watches.

"What going o,,Ump." I said as a gas mask was slipped over my own head.

"There that will keep the radiation from your lungs and eyes."

"Thanks." I mumbled around my gasmasks and turned to Veronica, she had a similar mask on and gave a little wave to show she was ok.

"Right, lets move." the small band of Russians soon pushed though the glowing street guns, I never did bother to learn there names, sweeping left and right helmet flashlights cutting though the gloom. They worked there way though the town cutting Ghouls apart with quick bursts. Though I will point out I head shotted one with a Hunting rifle.

After we got though the glowing Searchlight we got the airport. I had been here before normally it was empty save for a few airplanes that looked whole but with rubble locking there wheels from moving.

Now the massive bomber filled the whole of the run way. It was beat up the paint chipping and peeling and they even cut holes in it and placed glass windows in the gaps.

"Can that thing even fly?" I asked

"How else did we get here?"

"But the holes?"

"We lost super sonic speed but gained windows, fair trade off as were not flying with bombs."

"Ok."

"Right get on board." Aleksey said "once Christopher tells the NCR to get off are runway were take off."

"Right." I went off to do just that."

"Umm Christopher?" I turned "Yes Veronica?"

"Look you being noble and all that, but I don't want to go to Russia."

"OK," I said

"Really? Just like that no arguments, no strings?"

"Yup, its a long trip and I understand if you want to stay here, just hang out at the lucky 38, were be back in five weeks."

"Sweet can I get room service?"

"I assume so. You going to say that every time we split up?"

"Yup." she said with a slight smile and walked to one side as I spoke the NCR troopers who cleared the run way. I got on the plane and gave last wave to Veronica as the hatch closed.

I sat down and buckled my seat as I felt the plane shake and vibrate as it took off on its hour long flight to Russia.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Fallout the metros now betaed! thank you Wolf Geyson! here we go next chapta  
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><p>"Hey wake up." A hand shaked me awaked. I stood up and stretched with a yawn.<p>

"We there yet?"

"Yes, look out the window." I did just that. "Wow."

The city was chocked with clouds with tall, gray buildings, poking up from the clouds the ground that could be seen was caked in snow.

"How can any one live in that?" remembering what the NCR often said about wishing for a nuclear winter.

"We don't, we live under it, sheltered from the snow and poisons remember."

"Yes I do." I leaned closer to the glass.

"What is that?" I said as I saw a black object with orange lights on it. I turned to face Aleksey when he started to speak

"That's the home of the Dark Ones. One of the greatest threats to humanity in the metro."

"What are they?"

"Homo Novus, the next stage of human evolution. They evolved from humans exposed to vast amounts of radiation we think."

"Wouldn't that turn them to ghouls?"

"The things in Searchlight? Seems not."

"Have you ever tried to wipe them out?"

"Once, we got so close."

Stepan spit on the floor "God Damn Artyom and his choices may he forever roast in hell!"

"who?"

Before I got a answer the plane shook and rattled, I looked at a window and saw a long stream of bullets fly by the window.

"Were being shot at!" the intercom flared.

"What?" Aleksey asked "how far from the air port?" The plane shook "too far! Engines are on fire! Were going down." the plane dropped rapidly.

"Christopher!" Alkesey handed him a gas mask "If we get separated go underground, deep underground, get to the metro as fast as you can! Then find a station and get to Polis!"

I slipped the gas mask on and nodded.

The plane started to spin and fell into the ground, it left wing crashed into a building, sending flames everywhere the place shock and smashed into the ground, skidding and spinning across the ground.

My seat belt broke and I smashed into a wall and blacked out.

...

...

..

"Hey whoz this clown?" a voice said, I faded in and out of consciousness. I was laying on the cold ground half in a snow drift.

"Don't know, Let see what hes got." I felt a pair of hand reach though the many, (many) pockets I had.

"Holy crap! Georgiy! This guy has some nice shit!" He pulled the 50cal rifle off my back and the 9mm sub-machine gun from a side pocket.

"and a lot of bullets!" the other said as he went though my back pack.

I took a breath , my mask was cracked and some air got in and I had a coughing fit. The two looter laughed and I faded out again.

...

...

I don't know how long I lay there, in the cold ground. My body just refused to move and I kept fading in and out. My filter gave out on me, the cold toxic air blasted my system awake like cold water.

I coughed and gasped for air, a voice then echoed in my head.

"You are different." it seemed to echo and reverberate like it was in a cave, or a tunnel.

"You are not of this land." it was a tickling on the back of my skull.

"Who are you?" the voice asked I spoke between sputters for air.

"Christopher, Jacey, please," I coughed loudly and stretched my hand up to something. I was too half blinded to see, "help me."

The last I remembered was a three fingered hand grabbing my arm.

...

...

...

I came to on a bed, clean-ish from what I could feel, same could be said for the cotton blanket, I opened my eyes, I was blinded by the lights I held my hand in front of my eyes as they adjusted, the lamps weren't bright but my eyes were still blinded.

I tried to sit up, and finally got it right on the third time.

The room spun around a little as I got used to sitting. I looked around. The hospital was filled with beds in the concrete room each bed sequestered off from the others by curtains. I looked at my self simple cloth pants and shirt. I put my feet down and tried to stand, stumbling a bit, but seceding I took a few steps then a couple stretches like Mitchael said to do when I got shot in the head.

After feeling a bit better I was about to look around when a sudden squealing of metal wheels went followed by pounding footsteps. A hospital gantry rushed by doctors surrounding it as it went by they quickly moved him to a operating table I assumed for stitches, Judging by the amount of blood on the floor.

A doctor was close behind them when he noticed me, took me half a second to figure out he was speaking Russian, luckily the first word was a curse word so had no value.

"Yebat! What the hell are you doing up!" He rushed over and forced me down on the bed.

"doc I feel fine!" I said he took a flash light and shone it into my eyes to check for a concussion "I'll be judge that." Be said as he looked me over.

"Dear god, what were you thinking?"

"I was thinking I feel fine, little woozy but fine."

"Seeing as how you were half dead, and out for a day your in no state to judge that!" After a half hour he sighed "well you check out." He said.

"Well now what?" I asked

"That's what Station Commander Servanstyan wants to know."

"What does he want?"

"Dear god, you have the worst Russian I've ever heard!"he put his hand over his ears "it's giving me a head ache! When did you learn it last week?"

"Three days ago truly." I said and the doctor gave a me a odd look. That's when three men walked into my cube of curtains.

Two held Chinese assault rifles, the third did not though, he had pistol on his belt and a double barreled shot gun across his back.

"I am Servanstyan the station Commander who are you?"

"I am Christopher Jacey."

"Were are you from?"

"Would you believe America?"

Servanstyan nodded "I would, you're the man the plane from Polis was bring back, the Diplomat."

"Observer." I corrected "I need to see the Metro to make a view of it and send to NCR so they can make a decision I need to get to Polis was it?"

"Yes, that's the capital of the Union. But you don't know the first thing about the tunnels, not even what we teach the children." he said with a frown. "You would get torn apart."

"Why does every one say that?" I almost yelled as I stood up "what the hell makes a Nosalise worse then a Night Stalker? I can take what ever shit the tunnels can take with some proper clothing," He gestured to him self "my pip boy and a gun."

"you're what?"

"Pip boy." I pointed to my wrist "a hand held computer, I assume the looters took it?"

"No, that hand had frost bite on it so I assume it was in a snow drift and they missed it." the Doctor walked over to a small metal box on a table and lifted it out and handed it to my I put it on rapidly.

"Thanks, now the clothing and gun."

"Our Armory is fully stocked, though you have to pay for your equipment, damn greedy bastard." he hissed "and you're clothing is in the box, where we put all you personal items. Do you need money?" Servanstyan said

I reached into the metal box and pulled a thick bag of caps out "nope." I said with a smile.

"Good then." I put on the armor over the cotton clothing I had. The Combat armor was made to breath in the desert heat and from what I saw of the surface I would freeze in it.

I turned to face Servanstyan "thank you for everything." I put my hand out and he took it "no problem anything to help the union. By the way you were brought to the Station by a women she's currently in the bar said you would wake up today, damn I owe her fifty bullets." Servanstyan said.

"Thanks, I have some questions for her."I stood up and slid the helmet over my head and walked out of the hospital

The station was small filled with wooden buildings and I worked my way though the crowds, getting some odd looks due to my combat armor. It was crowed and reeked of humanity, sleeping, eating everything humanity does.

I stepped around some men haggling over a pig and stepped on to a old beggar.

"I'm sorry." I said as I tossed a couple caps into his hat, as I walked away, I heard him gave a odd curse after me, what did I do, I gave him a couple caps what more did he want? I made my way to the armory asking for directions twice before I got there.

I turned into the small alcove past a pair of men with sub-machine guns and moved into the stations armory.

The walls were filled with high caliber death, sub-machine guns, Chinese assault rifles, and something I did not even know what to call.

"Hello there, looking for some weapons? Won't find better in the whole metro!" the guy said with a smile.

"Ya, what's one of those?" I pointed to a sub-machine gun, I never bothered to learn the name of the damn thing. As I had bigger things on my mind.

"Sub-machine gun, 5.45 caliber." he took it off the rack and handed it to me "poor accuracy and over heats like hell. That's why we call it a Bastard."

"That, and its made from pipes and the parts of three other guns, so its a Bastard of parts."

"Huh never thought of that." the merchant said with a shrug "anyway," he slide five clips filled with dirty bullets on to the table. "that be 290."

That cheap? I shrugged and put a small bag of 300 caps on the table "keep the change I said as I pocketed the weapon and bullets and walked out.

"Wait a minute!" a voice behind me said and the body guards grabbed my arms.

"Hey whats the meaning of this?"

"You think you could trick." the merchant walked up sputtering in anger.

"I paid you!" I said back

"IN BOTTLE CAPS!" he said as he shoved the bag into my face.

I cursed inside of course they don't use bottle caps, they live across a ocean!

"Umm, oops?" I said with trying a smile

"Ya oops, now if I can get my bullets?"

"Bullets? I don't have any." the merchant tried to punch me in the gut, try as my body armor stopped it and he came out with a bruised knuckle.

His guards fixed it with a punch to my skull. I yanked sideways to escape but got another slug to my face."

"What's going on here?" the two guards stopped hitting me and turned to face the man who spoke, who thankfully was the station master.

"What's going on here?"

"This bastard tried to pay me with bottle caps!" Servanstyan looked at me.

"I thought you said you could pay?"

"I could if we were in the Mojave, I didn't think that you did not use bottle caps."

"Bottle caps?"

"Why else would I carry nine hundred of them with me?"

Servanstyan thought about it. "Let him go."

"But he owes me 290 bullets!" Servanstyan drew a piece of paper from his belt and wrote something out and he handed it to him.

"Take this to the treasurer, he will pay you the amount."

The merchant looked at it and his eyes bulged "320 bullets?"

"You want less?" he said and the merchant skittered off like a bug.

The guards handed me back the Bastard and I still had the ammo pocketed.

"Thanks." I said.

"Just don't get into any more trouble." he said with a sigh and walked off unsure what the hell to do with me. I looked my options over and decided I had a women to see.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Fallout the metros now betaed! thank you Wolf Geyson! here we go next chapta! **_

_**come review Please? review or i will feed you to the SWEDISH CHIEF!  
><strong>_

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><p>"I worked my way to the bar and looked around.<p>

Men and women were drinking heavily out of tin cups around wooden tables. I looked around for her, I didn't know who she was.

A voice from a table near the door interrupted me.

"You've awaken." I turned to see a women dressed in black leather coat, or light armor, with pockets all over it with ammo in every one and she wore a belt with shotgun shells in hand made loops all over it.

She her self was pale, well paler then the citizens, with dark eyes and dirty blond hair cut to chin level. She had a strange gun on her back, along with a double barreled shot gun.

"Yes I did, you must be the one who saved me miss?"

"Echo, and I did nothing more then aid what others had started." I raised an eye brow at her name, but nothing more.

"So, who are they, and who started it?"

"Funny, most comment on my name at this point, rest assured that they are helpful."

"Ok." I shrugged and sat down across from her. "So why did you want to see me?"

"To teach you, about the tunnels, we don't want you to die."

"How hard can the tunnels be! I kept saying that I can handle myself and no one seems to believe me."

She raised her hand "I do, you can handle you self, but you need to know." I thought about it. She was right, I would be able to handle my self, but at least in the desert, I knew what to run away from and what I could shoot.

"Alright, I buy that, were do we start?"

"We, start by telling you what you must learn, the surface and the tunnels."

"Were do we start?" I said again and she chuckled.

"You should know that all towns have problems, and Exibition is no exception."

"Meaning... What?"

"Meaning, we can start by aiding the station, Exibition has always had problems with Nosalises, we can start you're education there." She stood up "follow me."

I stood up, and followed her though the station, once more parting though the sea of humanity. I stopped when we got to a pig stye, I turned around, yup there's the beggar. "Hay Echo, may I borrow, umm, five bullets?"

"I do not see why not." she said and she took a clip from her belt and pushed five bullets out and handed them to me."

"Thanks I'll pay you back soon." I said and spun round to face the beggar.

"Well is it not the "bottle caper", what going to give me a tin can?"

I dropped the bullets in to his can.

"Sorry, let's just say I, put my hand in the wrong pocket." he scoffed very lightly and I turned around and walked off.

"May I ask, why you did that?"

"I gave him a pair of bottle caps when I accidentally stepped on him, before I knew caps were worthless here."

"Very kind of you." she commented and left it at that. We kept moving though the station till we got to the platform.

The sides thronged with people and between them sat a small hand cart pulling a equally small car rail car. As I watched, the people working the hand cart started to work the pumps and the whole train started to move down the tracks.

"Where are they going?"

"Riga, Exhibition has a long standing trade agreement with them. But we need to leave by foot." Echo moved though the crowds and I followed her.

She hopped off the platform and went to talk to a guard near the big metal thing that sat to both sides of the track looked like a door.

The guard held a sort of revolver shotgun combo if the shells on the revolver were any indication. "You two leaving the station on foot?"

"Is that a problem?" Echo said

"Well, not for me, but you guys are gonna get eaten by the mutants out there."

"Were going by the side tunnels. There won't be a problem."

He sighed. "It's your life." I spoke up

"If the the tunnels are so dangerous, then how do you get any were?"

"By a hand cart or not at all." He said and Echo cut in.

"He's paranoid, by foot is more dangerous yes, but it can be done, he just thinks the risk is not worth it."

"If you saw as as many Stalkers leave as I have and never return you feel the same way bub."

"Ignore him Christopher." Echo said and calmly loaded her gun and started to, pump it? I shrugged and loaded my Bastard sliding the square box into place, as I followed Echo into the tunnels.

The darkness was all pressing, I knew it would be dark. But I couldn't see two feet in front of me, were it not for the lights on the walls. I flipped my Pip boy light on as we walked down the tunnel passing construction crews working on some project with the rails.

Echo walked off the track, down a side door, in the wall and opened the door. As a pair of guards, one with a Bastard the other with a double barrel shot gun stood there.

"Halt! Who goes there?" one said and they raised there guns. Before mine went up Echo spoke.

"I am the Ranger Servanstyan told you about." They put there weapons down.

"Thank god! The Nosalises are getting rowdy, we thought we saw a Plated one!"

Echo face turned unreadable. "A Plated? They only found near D-6, what the hell is it doing here?"

"Hell if I know, I saw Anastaiy empty a clip of bullets into the thing, point blank and it just pissed it off, then, it bit him on his neck and started to,, eat him."

"It's is alright, we will avenge Anastaiy." She turned to face me. "Lets move." I nodded as the guards removed a cross bar of steel from a second door behind them.

"Concentrate." Echo said and raised her gun and the others did the same, as the one with the shot gun opened the door.

Nothing happened. Echo moved in and I followed the guards closed the door behind us.

"How do we get back in?"

"We knock, mutants don't knock." she said.

"Right." I shrugged and moved after her for another step, when a soft growling noise swung me round, and right behind me there was nothing. Were was the growling coming from?

"Sounds are odd in the metro, you can hear for more then you can see, there ahead of us." I nodded and we soon resumed movement.

We kept moving, the service tunnel was square not round like the metro tunnels. To are left ran long lines of former water pipes. We stopped, ahead of us was a wet tearing noise.

Echo looked to me and nodded she moved foreword and I stay close behind her.

We went around a corner guns ready and stopped.

There feasting on the body of a poor human guard, were three pale things.

It was pink, hair less, and had a long whip like tail. It looked like a rat, save its head did not have a snout. But was rounder with long cheek flaps and a small mouth.

When they saw us they ran for holes all over the floor.

"So, was that a Nosalises?" I said dismissively.

"No, that was a Lurker, they rarely attack groups, but watch out if your alone."

She walked over to the man and looked him over. He chest was chewed out but his left arm was untouched. I whistled at the size of a bite mark on the guys arm.

"Damn, that thing got teeth as big as a Deathclaw."

"That, would be a Nosalise." Echo said I looked around the tunnel. "So were are they?" I asked.

A loud screech answered my question."

"Stay close." she said as we pressed back to back I laughed dismissively.

"Lady, if we were any closer we'd be making out." she said nothing but kept her eyes searching. A roar echoed from the tunnels. I heard the pounding of claws on steel I looked up.

"Air duct!" I said and Echo agreed with me. With a expert shrug and arm move she drew her shot gun and replaced her pump gun on its place.

"Fire!" she yelled and I fire. The merchant was right, this thing kicked like a bastard. As the air duct sprouted holes in it as the screams seemed to go up a octave.

Echo emptied both barrels into the ducts as I finished shooting it. Suddenly the growling stopped. I swapped mags in the silence only the sound of blood dripping from the duct could be heard.

"Did we get them?" I asked and Echo looked it over.

"Doubt it, not all of them at least."

A loud scream echoed the hall way and a piece of ducting fell down and down drop the first Nosalise I've seen face to face.

It was gray skinned and hairless, it snout was filled with large uneven teeth, it had long lanky limbs that looked too thin to support its balk which was almost as big as I was.

I sprayed it with the Bastard as soon as I saw it but it charged. With a roar it leaped across the room and Echo stepped forward.

Raising her shot gun with a bayonet. I didn't see at the end of it, she impaled the Nosalise mid air. It was still mad and swing its arms trying to claw her face off not knowing it was dead. She then pulled the trigger firing both barrels at once, literally painting the hall way for 15 feet with Nosalise blood. I was pretty sure I got hit by a vertebral.

You could cut the silence with a knife.

"Whoa." I said simply and she opened the back of her shot gun and fed a pair of shells into the back. "Lets move." she said simply. I made note, if she was a Ranger, and if all rangers were as bad as she was, don't screw with the Rangers.

We moved down the hall way eyes peeled for targets. There was a door a head of us and behind it was a lot of growling.

"Open the door, quick." Echo said simple as she pulled a pipe bomb from her belt.

"And shut it?"

"Goes with out saying." she said I shrugged and opened the door quickly, I got the impression of six of them before the pipe bomb was thrown in and I shut the door and we both braced against the heavy steel door.

It shook, at first as the Nosalise tried to force it open. Only to shake violently as the pipe bomb went off. When the door was open we went in and looked around. The six Nosalises were dead, or mostly dead echo stabbed them with a knife.

The room was a large square concrete room lit by a single bulb on the ceiling with some kind of glowing green fungus on the floor.

I walked up to it, before my pip boy started crackling. I looked at it, they were slightly radioactive.

"Lovely." I murmured and stepped back from it.

"Where's the Plated?" Echo asked,as she looked around.

"What's a Plated Nosalise? Is there more then one kind?"

"Yes, there at least four types. The plated are the toughest."

"So what do they look like." I asked.

A large roaring echoed and I got my answer and the a large Nosalise fell from the ceiling I got a image of something covered in bony plates with what looked like goggles on its head before it lepted at me.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Fallout the metros now betaed! thank you Wolf Geyson! here we go next chapta! **_

_**Retcon: altered how VATS works.  
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><p>I fell onto my back as it lept on top of me a drew the my small Bastard and sprayed it point blank into the gut to no effect. It roared as lowered its head to crunch my face.<p>

I tapped a button on my pip boy and my body filled with energy slowing everything down. I scrabbled for something to hit it with, my hand fell onto a shovel. I swung and smashed into its dinged off but it ticked him off. The roar of a doubled barreled shot gun echoed and the Nosalise was pushed off me. I looked at it, it was on all four legs prowling., not dead.

It lept, again with that scream roar Nosalise use, I was still on my back scrabbled back, I did not notice it I heard creaking. As it fell on top of me when and it claw rammed into my shoulder and the metal grate I was on top of collapsed under me. I tumbled down the shafted, hit the wall five times as the Nosalise bounced after me.

I smacked into one of the walls and the air shaft, or whatever the hell it was abruptly from a straight drop to a slope and I rolled along the curvature untill I was level. When I stopped moving I groaned and try to stand up slightly trying to get my barrings when a scream sent me back.

The Nosalise had landed wrong, unlike me it had not hit the slope and rolled it had fallen on the opposite side of the drop and had smacked into the ground hard. Its leg was broken and , I was pretty sure I cracked some ribs luckily he had landed better then it had though or we both be doomed.

"Christopher!" a voice rang down from air duct. The Nosalise roared so I could barely hear her.

"Give me a second!" I yelled back and lowered my Bastard and emptied a full magazine into its head, the bullets bouncing and embedding into the the thick bony plates, that was getting me no ware.

I looked the monster over, the only thing keeping me alive at this point was, it had broken not one but two of its legs when it tried to land on its feet. I sighed.

"Well lets hope you can't chew through metal." I said and walked over to the Nosalise, avoided the claws and jammed the gun up the thing throat. Honestly he had just stuck the gun near its face and it bit down.

"This time just DIE!" I said and pulled the trigger spraying the whole magazine into its head it gave a last muttered roar, as my gun was in its craw, and keeled over I worked the gun out of his throat as it sudden was silent I looked up the air duct, or whatever the hell it was.

"He's dead now, you were saying?"

"I was asking if you were ok, but seeing as how you killed the plated you're self I'd say your fine."

"Nothing a Stim pack can't fix." I added up.

"We don't have those." she said after a slight pause.

"You likely call them something else." I threw back up the duct. "So where am I?"

"Likely the support system, for the old city system, things like water pipes, maintenance lines and the sewer system, more down here then just the Metro and by now the "natives"." she was referring to the animals I suppose, or the humans, likely both, "have carved and dug countless tunnels down there only thing safe is the Metro stations as there continuously repair with fresh cement and asphalt."

"So how do I get to the Station proper?"

"You can't." she yelled back and soon I heard the sound of leather sliding metal with the scrape of steel as well and soon Echo slid down the duct wall like I did and end up sliding into the dead Nosalise. She stood up and dusted her self off.

"Not with out a guide. Good work." She said pointing at the plated "they don't die easy."

"Had to jam my Bastard into it mouth." I said and she nodded.

"That will do it." she said and started to walk down the tunnel with me close behind her.

The tunnel was a square service tunnel it was dark, only a few old light bulbs, how long had they been burning, silently in the dark? The two of walked down the tunnel as I counted out my ammo.

"Hey can you spare a couple clips?"

She easily tossed me a couple couple square Bastard clips at me and I caught them with ease.

"So, I have to ask, what the hell happened?"

"You have to narrow it down." She said back

"Well for one thing, why is I can walk around the waste land with out a gas mask, but I have to have one here?"

"We got hit by atomic weapons like you, but unlike you, we got hit by a yield of more chemical warheads from Europe. There's the reason we can't go on the surface with out a mask that and we get lots of storms and radioactive snow and mist, you don't want to breath that crap in."

"War, aint it a kick in the head." I replayed.

"Indeed." she said. The tunnel was empty and seemed to stretch for quite a distance.

"Shouldn't we be seeing more mutants?"

"Life is focused in the metro, there is little to eat down here so it focus's around pools of water around which fungus grow or around stations feed off the waste and cast off from the humans."

"So, what about the rest of it?"

"Empty, its like a desert, all you find is something going some where else, to eat something there, and there the trouble lies."

"I can guess, so if they travel from point to point, then they go by the most effective paths, like a migration?"

"Correct, if you can stay off the main paths, you're mostly safe from the Nosalise, problem is those main paths are the same we use, the Metro tunnels, there the only way to move goods vie rail."

The tunnel branched into two ahead of them, they both looked identical to me.

"Which way?"

"A common fact in the Metro, follow the power lines," she pointed to the one that had cables and pipes running along side the wall. "They lead to the Metro rails they used to power the third rails."

"So we go that way?"

"Yes." she said and we went down that path.

"Remember what I said about the main tunnels?" I nodded I had and raised my Bastard."

We went though the tunnel and went into the main tunnels.

"We seem to be on the main tunnel between Riga and Exhibition." She said as she walked out of the side tunnel and into the main one.

"How can you tell?"

"You can tell, it something only Rangers can do and it take many years, some never learn it."

"Right." I shrugged and we moved down the tunnel to Exhibition. A roar behind us spun us round.

"Here they come." She said and she flipped a pair of goggles over her face, from were they were over the helmet. "Too many. Run!" she said and she started running down the tunnel.

"Can we out run them?"

"No, we can out interest them." She said as she started to pull pipe bombs from her belt and tossed them over her shoulder lighting them as fast as she threw them. Crys of animal pain echoed behind them.

"They are cannibals, they only don't eat each other due to how much damage that would do to them selves to eat a health fighting one, but the weak and injured are easy pray." The sound of wet tearing echoed behind us.

"Not far now." she said as the light grew ahead of us. I could hear the shouts of warning as men saw the onrushing, herd, hoard, pack? What do you call a group of Nosalises, or Nosalisi?

This all flash though my head in a instant as they station defenses went to work. The chatter of what I assumed to be a pair Heavy Machine gun rank out the heavy bullets slicing over head as the humans guarding the barricade soon put there guns to use.

The two of us soon got to the Barricade and I spun around. I started.

There was almost 120 of the bastards out there! I put my gun down and blazed full auto in to the group of them then the group of heavy flamethrowers lit up and the smell of burning alcohol filled the air.

The flames washed over the Nosalises (Nosalisei?) who screamed in pain as the flames burnt them alive. I kept firing into the group of the Nosalise until the flamethrowers cut out.

Leaving only a pile of dead mutants I stood up panting.

"I need a drink."


	7. Chapter 7

_**Fallout the metros now betaed! thank you Wolf Geyson! here we go next chapta! **_

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><p>Ten minutes later, I wish I had never had a local drink. The damn vodka was like drinking moon shine, and they put a fission battery in it!<p>

I put the cup down, shivering as Echo chuckled at my expense.

"The Russians have always been known for heavy drinking."

"I'd say, this could kill a man."

"We use it for Flamethrowers." She said simply

"That will do it. So what now?" I asked.

"I've thought of that. We'll by pass Riga for now, as it's unlikely the Nosalises have left them alone, so were headed to Market. The Nosalise have put the station on lock down. I can pass, as I'm a ranger, but they have the right idea the tunnels will be filled with Lurkers and Nosalises. As they feast on the dead and are attached by the stench, so the tunnels are a death trap with anything short of a Armored car or a Panzer."

"A what?"

"A Nazi tank, they make the best damn tanks in the Metro, if you see a Panzer, run. Only three have been known to be killed, one by a cave in, another 12 pounds of C-4 under the tracks, and finally by collapsing a bridge under it."

"Shesh."

"Yes, Shesh is right, but to get to Market we have to go over land."

"The surface?" Echo did a weird thing with her hands. She made one hand a fist and put the other one flat on her chest and tapped the fist to her forehead and slowly dropped it till it met her for arm.

"What was that?"

"Old ranger tradition, mentioning the surface or places on the surface under ground is unlucky, that wards off the bad luck. And yes that's were we go."

"Lovely." I said, the one time I stood on the Surface, I ended up almost dieing.

"Do you have a gas mask?"

"No I don't." She put five clips of Chinese assault rifle on the table. They had open sides so I looked and saw them filled with good ammo.

"Three of those will get you a good mask and about seven filters, the last two are yours, stock up on bullets and get your self a revolver and a good shovel."

"A what?"

"Shovel." She said like that was as good a explanation as I was likely to get.

"A what?" I said again.

"A small hand shovel, can be used for digging, hacking, gutting, cutting, skinning, roasting, and if well balanced throwing."

"I'm sold." I said as I took the clips and stood up to find the merchant.

Who unfortunately had bad memory's of me.

"Well, well, if its not mister bottle cap, do you have more soda pop funds or do you have real a weapon."

"I have you know bottle cap land mines are quite lethal." I said frustrated back

"What ever, so you gonna buy something?"

"Yes." I put the clips on the table. "I need a gas mask and seven filters."

The merchant put the mask on the table.

"That will be 120 bullets." I thought about it, 30 bullets a clip so that was four, I was told three was the fair amount and I told him.

"Well I say it worth 120 not 90."

I picked the mask up and looked at it, I had no clue what the hell these things were judged by, so for all I know I got the best one there was.

"I was told it was worth 90 bullets."

"I say 120."

"100." I countered he chuckled.

"No bartering, 120 or nothing."

"then you won't get any of my bullets." I said back "100 or you get nothing."

"Good luck going else were, I'm the only merchant in exhibition! They sell to me and I set the prices for the rest of the station. So either you give me a 130, ten more for being a smart ass, or you get nothing." I frowned.

"At that rate, you can't be making many friends."

"I'm rich, there not." he said simply.

"There pissed off and there's lots of them and one of you."

"I have bullets and guns to use them." he said again.

"Do that and they'll hang you, rather then run you out of station."

"Umm," he seemed to have run out of smart ass things to say, then he shock his head "nice try wise guy the price is 135 bullets." damn, I was just not conceiving enough.

After I paid the bullets for the damn mask, a revolver and a pair of full speed loaders, couldn't afford a shovel after that, I met up with Echo near the hospital.

"You get the supply's?"

"Damn greedy bastard," I said with snarl."couldn't get a shovel." I said in a more normal tone.

"Shame." she tossed me the bayonet off her shot gun. "that runs a close second to a shovel in usefulness. Come on." we moved though the hospital. Once past it there was a large room with a metal door at the end with two guards with assault rifles stood to either side of the door.

I stopped as Echo went to talk to the guards. Suddenly, I had a piercing head ache. I lifted my right hand to my head as my vision went black for a half second.

...

...

...

When it went to normal I looked around, the guards were different and a fire burned in the corner, that was not there before, and a third guard was opposite the fire.

The door opened and a pair of men walked in. a knocking filled the room.

"What the hell? Who could that be?"

"It's Hunter." the older man said.

"Mutants don't knock first, open the damn gate." the guard near the wall said, after he said it, the guards opened the gate spinning some wheels to lever it open.

When the opened it a man stood behind the gate, he was tall, had some kind of metal studded leather armor and a armored gas mask, he had a huge box of supply that he slid past the threshold of the gate."

"Welcome to Exhibition Hunter." a guard said.

"Thanks, now close your damn gate." and he walked in as the guards closed it behind him.

"It's been a while Hunter." the older man said as he walked up to him and the shock hands."

"Good to see you Alex." he said to the older man, Alex I suppose. He turned to the younger man.

"Hello Artyom." I started, Artyom was the name that Stepan cursed on the plane! I tried to say something, but found I could not, it was like a movie, I could neither move nor say, I didn't even need to breath!

While I was stunned the two men walked over to the fire Artyom trailing behind them. "So Hunter whats happening in the outside world these days?" Alex asked.

"Not much. Most of what I hear is about Exhibition and the 'undead' infesting your tunnels." he pulled a card of some kind from his belt and held it out to Artyom.

"Artyom, I met a trader selling old post cards of New York city and I thought of your wall." he handed the post card of the green lady to Artyom, and he took it.

"These are not the usual mutants. These are something else,something much worse." Alex said to Hunter as Artyom looked at his new post card.

"Dark ones. Well, whatever in hell they are my order has a motto: If it's hostile you kill it."

"The Dark ones, don't kill out right." Alex said then the Intercom screamed to life.

"Intruders in the main vent shaft-they're coming in from above!"

Hunter lept to action drawing a assault rifle and Alex stood up.

"Shit that's just what we need." The guard chambered their guns.

"There are wounded, just behind the wall. The hospital." the Guard leaning against the wall said.

"Kiril, take you group to the tunnels Hunter and I,"

"Alex, we must stay here and defend the hall." Hunter interrupted him.

"Alright. Artyom quickly Grab a weapon." the two went to a orange box and Alex took out a assault rifle and Artyom a revolver. The three of them looked around leery.

"Damn! They never come this far into the station!" Alex said

"It's the hospital-they smell the blood!" Hunter said.

Some red warning lights went off and a roaring was heard. A Nosalise jumped from the celling fan, I missed. And jumped at Hunter who quickly killed it. It was too quick for any one to get a shot off.

The next half minute was filled with shooting as Nosalises tried to enter the room vie the air ducts only for Artyom to shoot them dead, as Alex and Hunter dealt with the ones who lept in the via the main shaft.

When it was done Hunter looked over the Nosalises.

"No Dark Ones here, just the usual 'tunnel trash'." He kicked it.

"Even when you don't see them-the Dark ones are there. Fear that's their weapon, that's what made the Nosalises run though the tunnels like rats. The Dark Ones are not simple mutants-they're Homo Novus, the next stage in evolution. You've heard about survival of the fittest? Guess what? We lost." Hunter looked up from the Nosalises he had been contemplating.

"What happened to you Alex? You can't just go like lambs to the slaughter-I'll hang on to whatever life I got, with teeth and claws. And I'll take more then a few of your "Homo Novus" with me to hell!"

I like this Hunter I thought.

"You think you're some old movie cowboy? Have a look Hunter! Ten soldiers trained in combat, there bodies broken their minds gone!"

I did not like these Dark Ones if they drove men insane? Who could they do that?

A man ran in from what I guessed the hospital they had defended, I had walked though before the, Vision?

"The Dark One-they destroyed the outer Guard post!"

The four of them ran from the room and my head started to split again.

..

...

...

"Christopher." Echo said to me. I looked around it was the same room as I, left it? There was no fire form the vision and the guards were different.

"We can leave." she added

"Umm, yes." I said unsure.

"See something?" Echo asked, I decided to say nothing, what was I going mad?

"Nope."

"Let's go." Echo said and I walked over to her by the now open door. I looked up casually at the wall. In my vision there had been air duct now there were slabs of concrete that were a different shade then the rest of the walls.

"Why's that patch different?" I pointed to it, as I asked a guard.

"We had some Nosalises attacks that went though those ducts, when we got the chance we filled them with concrete blocks, last attack was a couple hundred years back."

I looked at the block of Concrete, so it had happened, and if my vision was real.

What did it mean?


	8. Chapter 8

_**Fallout the metros now betaed! thank you Wolf Geyson! here we go next chapta! **_

_**Please review i like knowing how people like my story's good bad or indifferent, i like knowing.  
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><p>I walked though the door, the first bitter bit of unbreathable air hit my lungs hard, as I slipped the mask over my face and I popped a filter into place.<p>

It was cold as hell out there, as we worked are way up the frozen escalator.

"Guns ready." Echo said. I pulled my Bastard out. We entered the surface station passing though the ticket machines, as we entered the open middle of the station.

Resting on the floor was a man, blue frozen, with a thick coat of some kind. He was dead.

"Stalkers, they come up to the surface all the time, looking for anything they can snag a bullet for."

"What the difference between Rangers and Stalkers?"

"Aside from the fact that Rangers are the elite military arm of the Union? Stalkers explore for the money, rangers explore for the Union or to help and aid others."

She knelt down to him and pulled looted him for equipment.

"Thank you." she patted him and breathed on his face her warm breath warming his face up enough for her to slid his eye lids closed.

She tossed me a couple clips of ammo, I put those in one of my pockets.

"Right lets move." she said and moved though the wooden doors that separated the station from the city.

The city had broad frozen streets, dusted with snow there were cracks in the cement and every not and then a pit or crevice opened up in the street. I looked down to see water in the bottom.

"Don't bother the waters radioactive, the radiations so hot, it keep the water from fully freezing." I looked at my pip boy and held it over the water, I was a fair distance away and my giger counter went off at 10 rads a second.

"You ain't kidden."

I pulled away from it and followed her as we wormed though the destruction, crossing planks of wood over pits and around parked cars. That last one worried me, so I asked her about them exploding.

"No need to fret, the cars are not atomic, but if you see a model you recognize, then you must be wary."

"How do you know about atomic cars?" I said

"I know." Was all got from her. She knew more then she let on.

The wind howled and whistled though the shattered buildings, I had been to New Vegas but it was never like this, there was nothing I could compare this blasted, frozen, city of empty windows and whistling wind to. I shivered and not to the cold.

"Yes, war is horrific thing. One we must learn from least this happen again."

"Again?" I said.

"Again." she said firmly. "We will rise above this and survive this, but we must not do this again. A wise man once said, I know not what weapons world war three will be fought with, but world war four will be fought with sticks and stones."

I muttered agreement, when a roar that was not the wind echoed.

Echo looked around. "Follow me." She said and ran into a near by building, breaking the lock off with a quick bash with her shot gun, we entered the building.

"Look up." She said, I saw a large white animal fly by.

It was large, maybe as big as a super mutant, four legs with large bat like wings.

"What is it?"

"There called Demons. If your in the open run for cover, when you hear them. That or you pray you have Automatic Shot Gun, Hellsing, or a rifle."

"Rifles I know." I said as I watched it fly by. I turned around and looked around the room we had lept into cover. It was a small store, with bare shelves and empty coolars.

"Shesh this place has been ransacked." I said.

"Of course, as close as this is to a station, this was probably one of the first places hit, if you wish to go Stalking, the best places are those hard to get or far from the Stations, ideally both.

"Thanks for the hint." I said at some point, I was going to need to do just that to get bullets for ammo and guns.

"Come it's clear." Echo said and I followed her, I could not help but wonder, how a Demon would fare vs a Death Claw. The Claw would have the edge in hight and likely strength. But they can't fly.

"Anything other then Demons up here?"

Just then a dog like animal lept atop a van and looked at us, it had odd cheek flaps and had a thick coat of hair. It gave a loud piercing howl.

"Just Howlers." she said and fired her odd gun at it, making only a poof of air as a noise as she killed it.

"I have been eying that thing for hours, and now I give up, what the hell is it?"

"Tihar." She said. "Remind me to show you how compressed air weapons work, that howl will draw more of them to us ready your self for a fight."

I nodded and raised my bastard up. The Howlers charged around a line of crashed cars and are guns roar, well mine roared, hers kinda of, pishted. The Howlers came around and a few lept over the cars trying flank us.

"Left flank." I said simple as I spun around reloading my Bastard as I aimed at mutants and took quick bursts shots at them. Howler after Howler fell as the bullets riddled them and the screamed and howled in pain. A roar soon overtook the noise of the battle, the Demon! I rolled backward as the Demon crashed to the ground were I had been standing. It was worse then I thought.

It had teeth as big as rifle! With pair of slits for a nose, and sparse white hair.

I stumbled back as the Howlers scattered before it and it turned its attention on the humans.

Glad I saved VATS for this situation, I turned it on and I felt the adrenalin flood my body. I took aim and fired almost a full magazine into it head each shot perfectly placed.

The Demon roared and clawed at it face, it knew the pale thing on two legs hurt, but not like that! It looked up and roared again and lept forward wings pressed tightly to its body.

I fired another clip into as it lept forward hitting its shoulders more then its head, but still doing damage. Bastard hissing as it overheated? I guess I drew my revolver and moved back as I fired a single shot into its head.

The single well placed shot smashed into its nose crushing it and spraying blood that instantly froze into small fountain. and it had enough. With a snap of its wings it took off with a bellow of pain.

"Well that was easy." I said as I put the revolver back into its holster.

"Easy!" Echo asked. "Many thing are said about Demons, that is not one of them."

"What, they don't have sarcasm in Russia?" I said. As I looked around, no targets, the Howlers had been run off by the Demon.

My breath suddenly became raged, as I felt my filter gave out. I took a breath as I switched filters.

"Where's the Market?" I asked and she nodded.

"Follow me." The two of us set out again, moving over the Howlers, as we pressed on to Market. The city was moaning around us, or at least the way the wind whistled though the city, made it sound like it. I shivered as I held my Pip Boy up.

I activated and then thumbed various radio stations looking for a music station. No stations could be found that did.

I frowned as I thumbed to a new channel.

",,,WE ARE THE FUTURE OF LENIN METRO! WE ARE THE ONE WHO WARDED THE NAZI OFF IN ANCIENT DAYS!" Echo spun round when my pipboy found the radio signal in almost a panic, so unexpected was the noise. I was surprised by the level of noise my self and my finger stumbled missing the button to turn it off twice. "SO WE SHALL NOW! WE ARE THE FUTURE AND AS WE MARCH THOUGH THE METRO THE DOWNTRODEN AND THE WEAK SHALL RISE FROM THERE KNEES AND MARCH FOR,!"

I slammed it off, panting slightly. "What the hell was that? Was that guy screaming into that mike?"

"Congratulation, you have found the official radio station of the Reds. Between the Reds and the Nazis, their propaganda fills the air with so much crap you need a gas mask." She tapped hers. "Underground. Let's move and keep you wrist watch off, we don't want to draw attention, there more out here then Howlers."

"Right." I followed at her a jog as we moved though the frozen city.

We walked over a small home, made bridge, made of stone and iron to cross a crevasse, as we approached a building with large wooden doors.

"Welcome to Market." She said as she walked over a door that had been kicked to the ground, the boot print still embedded in the surface of the wood. We moved though the station as we made are way to the escalators. We walked down the stairs, till we got to the iron gate at the bottom. She knocked twice on the door and it opened.

We were greeted on the other side of a heavy machine gun pointing straight at me.


	9. Chapter 9

**_chapter nine:Notes: this chapter has some conversation i over heard in metro 2033 in market station, hence the 'vampires'_**

**_Remember review? please?_**

**_betaed by scarlet bunny_**

* * *

><p>The two guards looked us over.<p>

"Who are you?"

"Rangers." Echo said and they waved us though.

"It's that easy?" I asked, once we were in the station proper.

"It helps if you have ranger armor." she said tapping her chest, bumping her armor.

"What is that made of any way?"

"thick leather with metal plates." She said as she lead me to a bar that was near the metal door. She sat down and bid me do the same.

"Now that we must part."

"What?"

"I was only to take you to Market, the rest is up to you."

"I thought you would show me the Metro? I know enough to be dangerous, to my self."

"Don't fret, you will meet others, who will show you the way, but for now I must leave you." I sighed and reached my hand out.

"It's been a pleasure." She reached out and shacked it.

"Indeed it has." she stood up and placed a couple clips in front of me.

"To start you out." I nodded as I took the clips.

"Before I leave just something to remember, don't mention my name to other Rangers."

"Why not?" I asked confused.

"They wouldn't respect you and would hold you suspect, I've had a bit of a, falling out, with the Ranger Order." I sighed.

"Lovely." I murmured. She smiled. "Do not fear Christopher, for good or for ill you will make a impact. We will meet again." she added over her shoulder, as she turned and walked away leaving me alone in a bar.

Made me wish for Cass. I contemplated my options.

Right now I need MG bullets. Time to find some work.

"Can I get you something?" I looked up to see a waitress hovering over me.

"Yes, do you know any one who needs a job done?" she rubbed her for cheek in thought.

"Market has Vampire issues." I cut her off.

"Vampire?"

"They like being underground, don't show up in the day, and hiss, no evidence of blood drinking, but definite flesh eating talk to Gennadiya, hes a merc and hes putting a group together to root them out."

"Got it." I logged it into my pipboy. "Anything else?"

"Bandits always hang out near the bridge, there a bounty for every one you bring in."

"Dead?" I asked.

"Of course dead." she said as she sat down across from me.

"That it?" I asked.

"You could ask the merchants, but other then that? no." I thumbed five bullets out of the clip and handed them too her.

"Thank you, miss?" And I stood up and locked the bullets into my belt. "Lesya." She said "and thank you." she stood up went to attend to another drinker.

I stood up, my plan set. Meet Gennadiya and help him with his 'Vampires'. I moved out to find him.

I was finding out that stations were three things.

Loud, smelly and public.

It was impossible to keep secretes and the whole station could be heard, just by walking though the station.

In five minutes, I knew of two arguments involving bullets, one drinking problem, two argument of who was cheating on who and one case of a man leaning he would have to pay for damaging a old radio.

Stations were also small. I just had to find him the there layouts tended to be a bit confusing. I had to pass the merchant stalls twice, once coming and other the going.

I took a right at the door to the out side, maybe they had a special name? Ahead of me was a blue train car, though much of the paint had flaked off reveling the gun metal gray underneath.

A old man was sitting on his chair, beside him leaning against the wall was a odd weapon. It had two rails and between them nothing it had what looked like a electric charge on side

I walked up to him. "Excuse, me do you know were I can find Gennadiya?"

"I am him." he said and looked up and scanned me up and down. "Go away, I want real troopers, not wanna be mercs."

"I am a real trooper, I've been in places your never know." I growled back meeting force with force.

"I've heard that before. What makes you a Vampire hunter?"

"How hard can they be?"

"They go down easy enough. But their so radioactive you have to watch you self."

"Radioactive?" I asked.

"Make you not worry about kids."

"Are the radioactive ones a pale yellowish green and glow?"

"Yes, how do you know?" he looked at me suspiciously.

"We call them glowing ones back home and we call them as a species Ghouls."

"Hump, well you seem to know what your talking about. Standard fee is 40 plus a bullet for every five you take out. We meet up by the front gate in five minutes, meet us there." He stood up, picked his odd gun up, and walked toward what I assume was the front gate.

I followed him.

"Any reason you're following me?"

"I don't really have anything else to do honestly enough." I looked him over "what kind of gun is that?" I pointed to the one he was carrying.

"Its called a Volt Driver." I nodded.

"How does it work?"

"Fuck do I know. I just point and shoot." I nodded again that was often said about energy weapons back home.

We walked past a guard post and we emerged into the tunnels proper. I looked around. To my right was a massive drop off into a pool of water, and given how people were around it was clean.

Gennadiya leaned against a wall and started to smoke. I kept leaning over the railing watching the going ons below. A mother scolded a child for entering the drinking water supply it seems. I smiled it was just like home.

A piercing head ache stabbed into my head and I held it tight for a second grunting slightly.

When it passed I looked up.

The people around the water were gone and as I looked around I heard a echo coming form down a tunnel.

"And here is the Market. Stay calm-Uncle Bourbon will get us in." two people walk up to the large gate which was closed unlike the open one I walked though.

They both had head lights and one held a auto shot gun, the other a Bastard. One was older then the other and was, grimmer if that could be said, sort of the look the Van Graffs had, the look of shady deals.

The other man, younger had a worried look on his face and looked over his shoulder every now, while the older one radiated confidence.

"Hey people! Open up! Don't let you're two legged brethren die a foolish death!" the older yelled, Bourbon I was beginning to think. A red light went on over a cage near the door I missed earlier.

"Are you deaf in there?We're going to be eaten."

He kicked the door and a man appeared in the cage. "Motherfucker! Who the hell did you drag with you? Damn Nosalises! Semyon, start the trolley. We'll save their asses!"

The old one turned to the other "Artyom, hang on! Fate's on our side!"

Wait, what? I started and I stopped paying attention as the two men fought off a pack of Nosalises ( Nosalisi?).

This was my second vision of Artyom, the man who seemed evil based on Stepan violent reaction to his name. Clearly he was important.

That did not explain why I was seeing visions of him. I was still musing when two of them finished up the Nosalises and traded yells with the crew on a machine gun cart. I missed most of the conversation though.

"You sure Bourbon, I can help you remember you get me right?"

"Absolutely." the two walked in though the door I had just left, then my head ache came back with a vengeance and I smelled something just awful I batted it away as I tried to blink away, both a raging head ache and something glaring in my eyes.

"You there, come on speak up!" I blinked again

"I'm here, you can take the damn light out of my eyes if that's what your doing." the light went out and I rubbed my eyes.

"What the hell was that about?"

"You tell me," shivers went my spine as I heard the sound of some one cocking a assault rifle, followed by three other assault rifles charging and a shot gun being loaded with a click.

I finally blinked my blindness away to see Gennadiya and three other guys pointing there guns at me.

"Care to explain why the Dark ones were talking to you?


	10. Chapter 10

**_chapter ten:_**

**_Here we go!  
><em>**

**_Remember review? please?_**

**_betaed by scarlet bunny_**

* * *

><p>"Ok, the who and the what?"<p>

"Don't play dumb." one of the Mercs walked forward his assault rifle bayonet gleaming. "Who are you!"

I backed away from the knife, only to back into the railing over the pit.

"Christopher Jacey."

"Whats going on here?" a man walked out of the station doors and looked the situation over. He was bald, with piercing brown eyes. he wore a leather buff coat studded with metal scales. He had pockets all over him filled with bullets, and three weapons slung on his back and on his hips.

A revolver on his hip, a Chinese assault rifle on his back and revoker shot gun next to it.

He currently had a knife in his hand as he walked forward. He palmed it and bounced it up and down, it was a throwing knife.

The mercs attitudes changed in a second. "This man went to a Dark One vision sir!" Gennadiya said and the captain looked him over.

"I see." he then looked at me. "Explain your self son."

"I have no idea what the hell is going on." I said as I tried to back out of my situation. "Why the heck should I know whats going on?" he looked me over, frowning.

"Your armor, your name is Christopher correct?" I nodded.

"Exhibition radioed ahead. They must be curious." he glared, it was like it was all he could do. "you are dismissed go kill you 'vampires." they saluted and almost ran off. He then turned to me and extended his hand. "Captain Kuzma 1st Ranger Recon Regiment."

"Christopher Jacy." I grabbed it and shock hard.

"You must be the diplomat. The dark ones must be curious in you. There always probing us, always scouting."

"Still a little confused on that." I rubbed my head where a after image of a head ache beat.

"We will give you a run down on the way to Polis. Follow." I nodded and followed him back into Market. Past some merchant stalls, there was a small alcove. Unlike the rest of the station, this alcove had been hand carved by men with pick axes not the prewar construction of the rest of the station"

Inside a man with a computer, a honesty to god prewar computer, was working on something. Behind him on the wall was a rack of weapons, rifles galore, shot gun, pistols, shovels, bayonets. Beside them gas mask's, filters, med kits by the image on the box, I never picked up on reading Russian.

The man looked up. Blue eyes under grimy lens's.

"What dreg of humanity did ya bring before me dis time Kuzma?"

"Stand down Leonid. This here is Christopher." he looked up.

"Lovely. I take it you want ta take him ta Polis?"

"Yes. Can you call the troops up." he nodded and pushed a button on his desk and spoke into a mic.

"Attention. Would all Rangers please report to the embassy. Priority prime." he looked up.

"They'll be here soon. How did you get here any way? Last we heard, you were at Exhibition saved from the crash by a ranger."

"Leonid." Kuzma said sternly, then to me. "how did you get here?"

"The ranger guided me here."

"What was his name? His orders would have been to keep you there till we could get you out."

I shrugged. "Echo,," that was all I said then Kuzma narrowed his eyes. "Echo? That bitch saved you?"

"Wait, shes real?" Leonid said wide eyed. "I though she was a legend."

"Shes real all right. How she still dares to claim to be a ranger is beyond me."

"Whats wrong with Echo?" I said "She seemed, a bit enigmatic but nice."

"She was captured by Nazi's and was saved by a Dark One. She then fell it love with it. She then joined them. Some say shes screwed one."

"Enough Leonid." Kuzma hissed "God why the council assigned you to this posting is beyond me. All that matters is that Svetlana has left the order and no longer answers to the council. Nothing more."

Silence reigned then I changed the subject. "Can I have one of those rifles?" I pointed to one on the wall and Leonid looked at it.

"Normally, no. These weapons are for rangers only, but for you?" he looked to Kuzma.

"Go head." Kuzma nodded and Leonid spun on his swivel chair and grabbed the rifle and handed it to me along with four stripper clips.

I grabbed it, oddly the stock was not made of wood, but polished and carved bone covered in some kind of shellac.

"What is this made out of?"

"Fresh from Sparta. One Mosin Nagant hand carved from Demon bones." I nodded and looked down the sights.

"You a sniper?" Kuzma asked.

"Preferable. But I can handle a mean sub machine gun. Should have seen me with a 9mm."

Behind us the door opened and a pair of rangers entered. They both had dirty blond hair and green eyes, generally they looked the same.

"Here we are." Kuzma said "Christopher, these are Anton and Grigori are resident twins."

"Whose who?" I asked and the one on the left nodded. "I'm Anton." he tapped his forehead where a claw scar was etched. "And you can tell whose who by this."

The next person in had a sharply angled face and black hair and light brown eyes. He was followed by a man with black skin, a thin set face.

"The last two Rangers stationed at Polis, Pasha and Oleg." I shock both there hands. The black skined one was Oleg and the other was Pasha.

"Now we need to reach a decision." Kuzma leaned on the wall. The little embassy was quite crowded.

"We need to get this guy to Polis. Do we wait for a armored car or do we go though the surface?" he made the ranger cross move Echo did when I mentioned the surface, they all did.

"Sooner is better. I say we walk it." Pasha said.

"By the time they get a car up here, double check for obstructions, and get moveing. We could already be at Polis."

"Agreed we can do it." Grigori nodded and Anton agreed.

"Good I was planing on that, just wanted you're input." Kuzma said. "Girgori, Anton and Pasha, you guys and me are escorting him suit and arm up. Leonid inform the station master." They nodded and left the room.

Kuzma motioned for me to follow him. I did as he moved back to the air lock I entered from.

"The Rangers will be ready soon. But I need to make one thing clear Mr Jacey."

"That is?"

"For what ever reason the Dark Ones are talking to you. I don't trust the dark ones ,so I don't 100% trust you. Understood."

"Crystal captain." I said "But you do know, I have to look around the metro. Not just on your state assigned tour."

"I do understand you're want to see who's who. However for now we get you to Polis and you can start there." I nodded made sense to me as well.

At the door the chosen Rangers were looking over there armaments and a few of them gave each other filters and ammo packs.

"Right then you guys ready?" nods went around. "Alright then, open the sucker." he said to the guards and they nodded and the door clanked open.


	11. Chapter 11

**_chapter eleven:_**

**_Here we go!  
><em>**

**_Remember review? please?_**

**_one more chapter and my back log no longer exists so chapters will come far slower. also this chapter has my first OC,,, Original Critter. let me know what you think of it?  
><em>**

**_betaed by scarlet bunny_**

* * *

><p>The small squad exited the Market gate. We climbed up the escalator, the same I had just came down. At the top the squad spread out a little, instinctively keep loose with well drill arcs of fire.<p>

"Clear." Girgori said the the group moved carefully over the frosted over rubble.

"Which we we going Kuzma?" Anton asked.

"I've been itching clear to clear Dry out for years, but its best we go avoid it." nods went around. I walked up to the door with the rest of the guys.

At the door my head pounded and I had to pause to rub my forehead.

"Great another damn vision." I muttered now semi used to them."

I looked around. From behind me a two people were walking up to the bridge me and Echo had passed over on are way to Market.

"So that the dead city? Welcome home, Artyom." him again? Why was I seeing visions of this guy?

"Why am I not surprised." I muttered.

"You say something." I started I looked around. Unlike before the world was still going on, it was not on 'pause' as it was before. The Rangers were all staring at me.

"Umm, no, no I did not." The two of them walked to the bridge, for a second it flashed as it was in there time, a pair of cars with a jump between them.

The first one lept the jump and extended a arm to the second, I still did not know who was who, yet. "Jump I'll catch you."

He didn't and the second one fell into the water and quickly, worked his way out as the first one spoke. "That's what I call rotten luck." with the creek of tortured metal the blue car fell into the crevice.

"You'll have to go around. Artyom, don't step in the puddles. You'll get irradiated and shit. You see that gated building?" I turned to face the same way Artyom did. Your target is a vent in the backyard, that lead to Dry Station. I'll wait for you in the building. There's a ranger hideout on the Upper floor. Make it quick,,,And don't eat yellow snow." he laughed. Then a roar echoed.

"DEMON!" everyone,Anton, Pasha Kuzma Grigori, the guy who failed to catch Artyom yelled.

The Ranger turned back into the station upper building. I though kept my eye on Artyom he darted across to the building across from the station.

I followed.

"Christopher! What are you doing!" Anton yelled after me as I ducked into a building following a vision. Not my sanest move I will admit.

The first thing I saw was a Stalker, he had no gas mask oddly enough. He was kneeling against a wall, his forehead pushed tightly against the wall. Nearby a shot gun was laying on the floor. I walked up, oddly he had only a single bullet wound, in the back of the skull.

He had been executed. With out ceremonial I expertly went though his pockets and pulled out every bullet I found.

Ten shot gun shells, four slugs, and 10 MG bullets. Grabbing the shot gun I slug my Bastard over my shoulder with a sigh and wielded the shot gun, I needed another golf bag.

Pocketing the bullets and loading the shot gun I looked around. While I had been busy looting, Artyom had dealt with some Howlers. I followed him closely up the stairs until we got to the third floor.

A screech met me and I knelt and faced the sound. Barreling around a corner was, something.

It was a biped with sparse black hair, long teeth with a jaw opened wide, a slit nose and large forehead. Most interesting, in its long fingered hands it held a bone like a weapon.

It screamed as it came around the corner like a praying mantis in a wood chipper. I didn't even think about it and fired both barrels into it.

It fell back and rolled around screaming. It came back up hissing and charged forward again. I locked another pair of shells into the gun and fired again. The thing, jumped side ways, onto the wall and lunched it self at me.

I took a stance and jabbed with the shot gun, the blunt gun stabbing it in the chest. Its spit landing, and freezeing on my gas mask as it roared in pain and rage.

I fired my other barrel into and drew my revolver and fired into. Round, after round impacted the mass of meat, bone and hair, that rolled and screamed on the floor trying to kill me. Emptying six shots into I speed loaded six new rounds into place and took aim.

It had stopped moving. I walked up to it and drew a baynet and stabbed it in the head. It gave a last shuddered moan and died.

"What the fuck are you?" I said and pried open its jaw. It looked like a hell chimp on crack. With the knife I cut the fangs out so some one could tell me what had teeth like it. Pocketing them I looked around. I had lost Artyom.

I turned into a office and there he was, it was like he was waiting for me. Then again maybe he was, the vision was odd like that. He kept moving though a former office then he ducked down a elevator shaft. Surprised I followed him. In his time it had been a ranger stock pile.

In mine. It was sniper nest. A man was looking down the sights of a rifle at something. I reloaded my shot gun the click making him jump a foot in the air.

"Don't do that!" He said turning blue around the gas masks as he tried to breath heavily though a filter that would let him. As he took stock of the situation Artyom ducked down the elevator shaft climbing under the elevator.

"This looks bad doesn't it?" he said at last.

"Yup." I said.

"Wait I can explain!" he said "I'm Demon hunting."

"Demon hunting?"

"Ya." he nodded and pointed out the window. "When one of the flying pile of bullets goes by I nail it in the wing." he picked up his rifle, it was actually a cross bow and showed it to me. "When the arrow goes though it pops open," he showed me one of the heavy arrows and tapped button on it flipping four prongs out, "And since the arrows tied down, it falls to the ground, or rips its wing out."

"Good for you." I said lowering my shot gun. "Well I best go now, I slipped down here to say the least."

"Wait,umm, take this." he reached down and handed me a Bastard clip of filled with military grade bullets.

"I don't quite have all the permits to hunt around Market, and the Demons know it, so they flock here, so I appreciate if you didn't tell any one you saw me." I nodded and ducked down under the elevator. "Happy hunting." I said and he nodded.

"I intend to." I ducked down and landed on the ground. The ghostly phffit of Artyom gun finished up a pair of howlers. I followed him back up the stairs, past the dead demon chimp, then past the elevator.

We slid down a scree slope of rubble and ice. Looking around a howler watched me warily. I had no way of knowing if it was Artyom's time, or mine.

The howler jumped away so it was a moot point.

Following Artyom he cut though a building I looked around and,,, A HOWLER LEPT AT ME!

I put a shot gun shell into it but it kept going, and smacked into Artyom. As he dueled with it I loaded a new shell into the left barrel. It was tricky keeping the two reality apart.

Once he dealt with the Howler and shoved it off him he walked into the building.

Inside was another executed stalker, a single bullet going though the base of his skull. His skin was blue and I turned it over and looked at the bullet hole. It was lightly oozing blood on the so he could not have been dead all that long.

Going though is pockets turned up some speed loaders for a revolver, 32 loose 5.45 bullets, and a Chinese assault rifle clip. The rifle was no were in sight. I stood up, then noticed his eyes, glaring sightlessly ahead.

I knelt back down and breathed on them like Echo did, the heat of my breath making them easy to move and I closed them. Standing back up I moved though the building.

Ducking around a truck Artyom's was just ahead,,, laughter echoed from some were around me, and a voice spoke as if from many from within a cave, "He can stop death."

I tightly clenched my new shot gun, and carefully looked around, Artyom did the same. Around a corner a rusting playground emerged.

Morbid, cold, the window forlornly blew a swing in and out to the tune of creaking, rusted metal. I shivered and jumped down a ledge.

My vision flashed.

When it came back, it was a different world.

The sky was blue, grass was green and children, happy children, not the weathered and hard post war small adults that had taken there place.

I stopped, I looked around, this was a the world, clean, safe, calm, the world from before the bombs.

I put my hand to my mask and, nervously, undid it.

Holding my mask, I took a deep breath of the air. It was a warm day, the smell of fresh cut grass, baking in the distance, hit me. A second in to the breath, radioactive and toxic air from the real world blasted my system. Coughing I took another breath as I put the mask on, again the smell of a after image of the world flew up my nose, only to last a second and be replaced by the real world.

I looked around,Artyom was gone. For a second I stood in a echo of the old world, then I disappeared.

"What the hell?" I asked dismissively what was that? I turned around and started.

Squatting on a old rusty white van, was some kind of mutant.


	12. Chapter 12

**_heres a new chapter. let me know what you guys think. Remember your R!_**

**_Read, Review and,, and,, rampage!_ **

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><p>It was dark gray skinned, with a sort of ovoid, almost reptilian head. Long arms ended with three fingers and a thumb, the legs were also long and it stood well over three feet tall.<p>

This particular mutant had taken a beating. A long scar ran along it left jaw bone terminating at its chin, it right thigh had a scar going from were the eye brow should have been to its chin. It skin was covered in old bullet pockmarks and blade wounds. It blinked, eye lids going up rather then down and stared at me.

Unlike every over thing I've met so far this thing did not attack me on sight. I raised a arm in greeting and it snorted a puff of white air in the cold, but did the same.

"Can you under stand me?" I asked. It was silent and just glared at me, with a ever softening visage.

"There you are!" I turned as if in a daze to Girgori. "We look all over for you and what do you do? Run off! Where the fuck were you!" he stomped up, the snow crunching heavily. "We wait for the demon to pass, then we look to were you ran off, only you weren't there! What the fuck were you thinking? And what are you looking at!" He spun to face were I was looking and what little of his face I could see paled.

"Dark One!" He drew his Chinese assault rifle. He never got to use it.

A low pricing whistled seemed to come from the back of my skull and the now dubbed Dark One reached out with its hand and I could almost perceive a oily, off colored, with no real colored, wave go from its hands and impact Girgori.

The waves rebounded and wrapped around him and almost in a daze the rifle lowered. The Dark one then looked at me, almost reading my confused look.

My head screamed at me and I clenched it as a migraine stabbed hard into my brain. It passed and I looked to see the Dark One. It some how looked apologetic and turned around and ran off.

Standing back up, I looked Girgori over. He had glazed, disinterested look in his eyes though the gas-mask visor. I grabbed his shoulder and smacked him.

"You alright?" he shock his head and looked around.

"What happened?" then he turned to me and pointed his assault rifle at my stomach. "I knew we couldn't trust you! Firggen Invisible watchers!"

In the city of Novac a ranger taught me a take down, just for times like this. My right leg shot out and hooked around his left and I pulled back bringing him down. I took a fighting stance, dropping my shot gun so I was going to just box him.

Girgori scrambled back up and made for his rifle. I moved up and back handed him in the side of the head. It up set the seal on his mask and he had to pull back to fix it suddenly panting. Just then my filter gave out and I was gasping.

I reached into a pocket and drew a new filter as Girgori went back on the attack. Just as I got the new one in place he punched low, only to run into my cod piece. I impacted his chest with my fist, only to run into ranger armor and bruising my knuckles.

I backed up and he did as well. The two of us glaring at each other though tinted glass of are gas masks. "This whole punching each other wearing armor thing is getting no where." I said at last.

"Care to explain what brought that on, before we both run out of filters?"

"Please do." Kuzma said walking to the small park flanked by Anton and Pasha. "Both of you. Why were you fighting? As if the demons are not enough!"

"Sir! This so call diplomat ran off to meet up with a Dark One!"

"And I have no idea what that is really." I said back replying to Grigori. "Just got here remember? Your foes and wars are new to me. I will say though." I pointed at were the Dark One had stood. "Dark One or not it just stood there, didn't do anything!"

"Enough both of you." Kuzma said and glared at me. "I have no idea what happened, but remember what I said about not trusting you? It double. I am not letting you out of my sight until we get to Polis, am I understood!"

"Yes sir." It was automatic; he gave a order that was the inevitable response.

"Right now let's..." I interrupted him.

"Contact." Coming out of the loading dock, I think, of a super market was a squad of men, out numbering us three to one.

"Shit." Kuzma said. "See the guy in the fancy armor?" I did. He wore black leather armor made of plates about as big as a piece of paper. The plates, moved and shifted with his movement. The armor cover his shoulder and twin segmented parts extended to just above his knee. "He's a Vaffen-SS 'political motivator,' just shut up and let me talk."

The Vaffen walked up, his large squad behind him taking positions up behind cars, small ledges and drops, and getting good cover.

He eyed us as he got close, his voice was like a smug oil slick. "So what brings you so close to Dry station Ranger?"

"Were not even close to Dry." Kuzma said. "Were a good distance away. Would take a whole filter to get there. We got split up by a demon." He glared at me.

"I see." the Vaffen said eying my combat armor. It stuck out like a sore thumb compared to the thick black leather metal studded armor the Rangers and he wore.

"Where you get that armor?" before Kuzma interrupted I told the truth.

"I stalked if from a old army truck." which was true, save it was a US army base.

"Interesting." he said eying it. "You are aware, that with out a license, you can be shot by any member of the Fourth Reich's military units, such as my self."

"So, your the one who killed the two stalkers." I said calmly.

"They did not have licenses." He said.

"Well, I didn't 'acquire' the armor within Nazi territory." I responded, again a truth.

"Irrelevant. Any equipment acquired by Stalkers entering Nazi territory is held to the law." I gave Kuzma a side long glance. He nodded, he was for real. Kuzma spoke up. "Well be that as it may we must be going now."

The Vaffen nodded. "My orders are not to engage Ranger units, so you got lucky today."

"Indeed." Kuzma said and the Vaffen turned and walked back to his squad.

"Now we just slowly back away, nice and careful." Kuzma said. We got about three paces back fore the Nazi's attacked.

The opening shots were from a rifle and Anton fell, the bullet hit him in the leg, Pasha and Grigori were killed out right, bullets going into there necks.

Kuzma grabbed me and pulled me back though the park.

"Come on kid!" he yelled as bullets began to fly over head cracking though the frozen air.

"What about Anton?" I said, I could hear the bang of his assault rifle, it was silenced at some point.

"No time! We have to get you away from them!" He took a right into a abandoned building instead of going left, which was due to the three Nazis coming up that way, they had split up to surround us.

Inside the building I followed Kuzma though a hall way and though a hall way. A bullet impacted the shoulder of my combat armor, I dropped, pivoted on my left foot, drew the Mosin Nagant, chambered the first round with the well greased 'snicket', of a bolt action rifle, and fired. The heavy round send the Nazi down for the count as he came around a corner.

Working the bolt another round impacted the face plate of the second. A third Nazi skidded into the room, then spun on his foot, slipping on ice, trying to get away from what had killed his comrades.

A bullet went straight through the base of his skull.

I turned to find Kuzma, had not been as lucky. A bullet impacted his side, (between the front armor and back armor) and was, not bleeding actually, the blood was freezing on the edges forming a sort of frosty scab over it.

"Kuzma!" he winced as he held his side.

"Guess this is it." he muttered I scoffed. "You're kidding." I slung my rifle over my shoulder, drew my revolver, and stood him up leaning him against my shoulder. I could feel the implant in my spine stiffen as it helped the heavy ranger walk it off.

"I don't leave any one behind." I winced at the thought of Anton lonesome gun fire, holding as many of them off as he could. "And I always avenge them."

Exiting the Hotel, I glanced around. We were in the back yard, a swimming pool was in front of us, it was frozen over from the cold. On the other side though, was a small stone wall, then a street, then a building.

The two of us winced around the pool, I really did not trust that ice and hastily got the two of us over the wall, I think I bruised Kuzma ribs and popped the scab over the bullet wound.

"Shit!" he said and he worked his way to a kneeling position as I vaulted the wall. He fit a new filter in place and drew his rifle, working though the pain and slid a new stripper clip into the Mosin Nagant.

"Maybe they won't find us." I commented and Kuzma laughed.

"They will."

A small fire team of five Nazis entered the out door pool the Vaffen leading.

"Spread out!" he said "That man in the fancy armor must be taken alive." I gave a look to Kuzma, clearly the Nazis knew who I was.

The group of five started to move around, turned out the pool was strong enough to take there weight and they moved in a sort of staggered line, the Vaffen leading.

I nodded to Kuzma and the two of readied to fire, when a sharp crack rang out over head. A Nazi fell, the rear most one.

Suddenly a fury of sharp cracks echoed from behind us, a single fore-lone voice yelled Sniper! Only to be cut down, the bullet going though his eye spraying shattered plastic of his mask and brains all over the frozen ground.

The sniper cut though the squad quickly and the Vaffen was last, he had a look of bewilderment on his face as the bullet removed his jaw.

I turned around, still behind the wall to see the sniper who had aided us.

"You alright down there?" he shouted out from a second story floor.

"Yes, thanks to you!" I shouted back.

"You're alright? Some ones leaking over there!" I looked around, red blood was quite prominent on white snow.

"Yes you know a place we can rest up?"

"If your willing to risk a slightly insane former Nazi officer yes!"

"We are!" I said eying the amount of blood on the ground.

"There's a Man hole about five meters to your left." I nodded the only good thing Legion did to science was insist metric be used. "Down it you'll find a small service door go though. Past the door the air should be filtered by some prewar systems we set up. Wait for me down there, I should be quick." I nodded.

"On it, thank you!" he nodded, I think he did it he was kind of distend. "Lets hope you think that after meeting Captain. I'll cover you till you get into the man hole." I nodded and I picked Kuzma back up and the two of us worked to the man hole.

Behind us the sniper had opened up again and a number of cracks rang out as he seemed to single handed suppress a entire Nazi squad, if the number of shots was any indication.

I opened the man hole and I grabbed a hold of Kuzma, over the shoulder style, I could feel the implant in my spine straining, as I hauled him down into the dark.

Once we hit bottom, I put him down panting. At some point he had passed out, likely from blood lose.

After a moment I picked him up and moved down the sewer, till I got to the door the Sniper had told me about. I had to work to open it, pushing hard against a back flow, then I worked both of us in shutting the door behind us with a hefty click, followed by it a pumping noise.

I undid my mask and took a breath of putrid tunnel air, a head of us was another door and I assume that one would lead us to the encampment.

"That's fucken it. The next time I hear a NCR solider wish for a nuclear winter, I'll slug them right in the jaw."

After a half minute, the door opened again and I was chocking as poison air hissed into the air lock. Closing it behind him, are sniper pulled his gas mask off.

He had short cropped brown hair, brown eyes contrasting against his pale skin. Under his left eye a pox scar of some kind was prominent. He was also well shaved.

"Bit more excitement then I'm used to, best get him in before his inners become outers." he sighed. "brace your self."

He knocked on the door and it opened with a hiss.


	13. Chapter 13

**_New chapter and you get NOTHING for figuring out which webcomic are Captain is a walking shout out from. its not hard, and i highly recommend romantically apocalyptic,, damn it! you tricked me into reveling which comic it was!,  
><em>**

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><p>It had been five hours since the door had opened. Their resident Medic, Gavrie was looking Kuzma over. "Not good." He said and he reached into pocket on his apron and started to smear a green paste over the wound.<p>

"Whats wrong?"

"The bullets hit something major, I need to clean the wound." Gavrie said.

"So, whats wrong?" I asked again. He glared at me as if I was stupid.

"I have to use some Tubercle paste. Which despite it amazing antibiotic property, is radioactive."

"You don't have a.." I searched for the word in Russian, finding no word, I had to say it in English "Rad-X?"

"What?" He said. As he injected some small needles into the skin. "I don't know any Rad-X, but these Med kits will take the radiation away, as I hunt down that bullet."

I nodded. The Sniper who had named him self Naylor was sitting on a nearby chair. He had just come back from a long chat with the Captain, as he had called him, no name.

"Well while hes busy with that, the Captain wants a word with you." I nodded and walked to him Naylor close behind.

This 'out post' was quite small. Three rooms. One main room, one medical room, that also doubled as the sleep quarters and the captains quarters. Illuminated by the faint glow of lamps, torches, and the fire in the main room gently cooking a pot of, something.

There were only five men here. The Medic, Captain, Naylor, and two unnamed solders. The two of them were working the cooking pot. Each had a Bastard Submarine gun nearby.

At the door Naylor spoke to me. "Be respectful. Remember he sees himself as a Captain, and everyone who is a friend, is a subordinate."

"Sounds rude." I commented.

"No, insane." He said. "I tell you more after you speak to him. Remember act like a solider."

I nodded and knocked.

"You may enter."

"Your on your own." Naylor said. I nodded and entered.

Inside a record player was playing a old opera track. To the light of a oil lamp hanging on the ceiling, the Captain was writing something out. He was behind a desk and behind him was a small bed.

A red phone was sitting next to a coffee mug on the desk and as he wrote he stirred the dark fluid in the mug every now and again.

"Come in, just finishing my report." I walked and got a good look at captain.

He wore a over coat over what ever armor he wore and he had a gasmask over his face with purple eye slits. Unlike most gasmaks I've seen this one was not clear, but a armored face plate that obscured his face. Over the gas mask was a black hat with a red stripe.

He finished up and looked at me. I fidgeted, was he expecting something?

Wait, Naylor had said he expected me to be a soldier, I came to attention and saluted.

He nodded. "Good. Most new solders command sends, don't know the first thing about discipline. At ease." I did so. "Take a seat." I nodded and sat down on the chair across from him.

"I heard about what happened. Ghastly, that command should send reinforcements, only to be ambushed so easily. You think they would be better able to fight the enemy off."

"Umm, ok." I said a bit confused.

"In fact." He reached into a desk drawer and drew a new sheet of paper. It was written in red crayon.

"I shall send a official complaint up to command. To many men never get to are posting even when promised they would." he took well worn red crayon and started to write on it. In the silence I spoke up.

"Captain I,

"Just call me sir." he said not looking up from his 'form'

"Very well, Sir I am confused, who is command?" He looked up.

"Who is Command? They are Command! They command us and are army in this damned war." he paused and picked up a white mug with a heart on a black background on it. Undoing his filter he took a straw and drank out of it.

"Not that its going well." he said somewhat sadly then he looked up.

"But your here! I had a mission planed out and command sends you!"

"Mission?"

"Mission." he nodded "We have evidence of a terrible prewar weapon nearby," he leaned close "It causes cancer."

...What?

"How, does that help? Really?" I asked.

"Cancer is the leading cause of death after bullets, mutants, poison water, filter failures, frostbite, halitosis and lemons."

"What?"

"Yes lemons." said now on a well worn rant. "There sour on the outside, sour on the inside and when you least expected, THEY EXPLOAD!" he jumped in the air arms wide for punctuation.

"Umm, lemons are extinct."

"Don't believe the enemy propaganda." He pointed at me sternly. "That's what they want you to think. The lemons are out there, waiting to strike, to explode; we must be ready at all times." He sat down again.

"When will you set out?"

"What?"

"To find the weapon?"

"Umm," how long did I want to stay here? I did need to save Anton, it was my fault he was either dead or captured, I don't know which.

"Tomorrow." I said "I set out tomorrow. However can you look after Kusma?"

"The other Solider? Of course it's the least I can do for a man under my command. But you cannot go alone, the surface is dangerous I shall assign one of my men to help you, any recommendations?"

"I'm... not sure I need a second man, Sir."

"Think on it." He said.

"Your dismissed trooper." I nodded stood up, saluted and walked away.

Shutting the door behind me, I looked at Naylor.

"Well?"

"He's insane! What happened?"

"He told you about the lemons?" Naylor chuckled.

"I don't know what happened to him. All I know is something bad happened around Purge station and Purge is the most notorious of the nazi death camps." He shivered. "I don't think I want to know what happened honestly."

I nodded.

"I need some help Naylor. I'm going to head back up. I need some equipment from the Nazi's you killed today. They still around?"

"Nope. They looked around and they left should be safe now. Though they took all the dead's weapons"

"Good." I slid my mask over my face. "Lets go."

It taken hours and almost four filters to strip all the Nazis off there armor. It was night and I was going over the armor by lamp light in the bunk room across from a sleeping Kuzma.

Close up there armor was really good. The best analogy was some examples of Legion armor that they called Lorica segmentata. It rode you body almost perfectly each segment sliding on other moving perfectly. The inner lining was some kind of thick fur and it was both warm and protective.

I test fitted a shoulder pad on. It was a little weighty but good. I started to take the nazi armors apart, my own was too distinctive and I had to create something that would give me a measure of peace when I infiltrated. But I did not want to look like a Vaffen so I had to make it distinctive.

Naylor was helping me.

"The shoulder pads and leg guards are only worn by Vaffens, and Stormtroopers. Your best bet would be to try and pass your armor off as a Stormtroopers. The problem is the armors too well made you need to dull the gloss down or every one will know its a Vaffens not a Stormtrooper." I nodded as I scoured dirt and grime into the gloss of the hard leather.

"The chest plate though has to many medals engraved in it. Your better off grabbing one of the Schütze's chest plates."

"Shit zen?" I said looking up from my scouring. He chuckled.

"The word is Nemetskiĭ in origin. It the language of all Nazi documents and as far as I know no one speaks it out loud, save for ranks."

I nodded and went back to stringing the armor back together.

"So what is this made of?" I asked

"The leather plates are layers of Nosalises hide tanned and glued together with a secrete recipe of ground up fungus and Slime Slug organs." I nodded "The strings that hold the plates together are made of tendons and the leather harness the armor sits on is more leather. The Vaffens use Demon wing leather for the harness due to the fact its softer."

I nodded and went back to the armor.

"I take I'm still alive?" Kuzma said finally waking up.

"Yup." I reached and grabbed bowl, sitting on a create. "Want some.." I shivered "Nosalise brain soup?" it wasn't that bad really, but still the idea of eating that things brain? He nodded and I handed it him. He sat up, shooting evil looks at every one as pain shot up his sides.

He dug in like he hadn't eaten all day.

"Were am I?" he said glaring around.

"Your in outpost 93 as Ze Captain calls it."

"Captain. The same one I get reports from every now and again?"

He rubbed the back of his head. "Captain is a few bullets short of a clip. But we still alive so we follow his orders. Which amount to observing the surroundings. There actually quite good. I've read some. So on occasion when a report has useful I pass it on." I got the feeling he said it for my benefit.

Kuzma nodded then turned to me glaring. "This is your fault and.."

"I know. Where would the Nazis have taken a prisoner?" I asked Naylor.

"Short term? Dry. Longer term they will send him to Purge." he thought about it. "Or to the front. They always could use more suicide bombers."

"What?"

"Suicide bombers. They strap TNT to prisoners, have them rush toward the enemy, while there shooting them from behind to make them go forward and to double the problem of whose a bomber and whose a escaped prisoner they cut there tongues out." I blinked in horror.

"Mother fucker! Even the Legion would be enraged by that!"

"Legion?" Naylor asked.

"No time, tell you later." I said. "Tell me about Dry?"

"Used to be a Bandit station. The Nazi cleared it out a few dozen years back and its one of there outpost. Known for its air filters making everything, well dry. It also know for its dried meats and tannery's. Which are related to the air filters." Naylor said then a solider gave a harsh laugh from the main room.

"All I remember from Dry was that they brothel got whores from Riga."

"Riga?" I asked.

"Riga has a bit of a reputation." Naylor said.

"Said by one who had felt it firsthand." Kuzma said with a chuckled.

"I hate that bitch." Naylor muttered. Kuzma glared at me.

"You will try and save my man? What if you can't?'

"Then, I don't know." I said. What was thinking in side went around the idea of a fat man, I blinked I still had no idea about the Nazis. I was automatically listing them as evil. Some diplomat.

Still.

I looked Naylor over. "You've been to Dry?"

"I was stationed there before I left. I had some complications with a commanding officer."

"Care to lend me a hand? I need someone who can lead me though."

Naylor smirked. "Always up for sticking it to the Fuhrer. But, this may seem odd but I need permission from Captain to leave." he pointed over his shoulder. " Hes nutter then fruit cake shit. But we are alive. We have clean water, food, he knows how to keep us alive and from killing each other."

"You respect him." Kuzma said.

"When he's not a insane." Naylor scoffed. "You should hear some of the things we've done."

"Captain promised me some aid. I'll go ask him now if you want."

"Please do." he said with a nod and I stood up from the armor. Stretching I moved to captains quarters. I knocked on the door.

"Enter." I did and saluted. Captain was just where I had left him. He was even writing.

"At ease, what do you need solider?"

"You said I could have another solider help me?" Captain nodded.

"You chose one?"

"Naylor."

"Snipy? No I can not allow that my snipers are the back bone of army and he is too valuable " I thought about it, had to convince him to let Naylor go.

"Sir, I need the help of Naylor its top secret mission, from command." I said and Captain looked interested.

"May I ask about what the mission entails?"

"It's, about the whole Metro." I said honestly enough, if one included me in that. "It could shift the balance of the whole war." Captain leaned back in surprise. "Indeed? How is that possible."

"Classified by Command."

"Humm." Captain said "I need to check in with command."

O shit.

He picked up the red phone and dialed it.

"Yes I would like to speak to command. Yes I'll hold." he started humming easy listening jazz. He took the power cord of the red phone and spun it around in a lazy arc.

"Ahy yes. The reinforcement you sent claims to have a mission from command may I request if this is correct? Yes, yes, ok, thank you." he hung up and looked at me.

"Command says you're holding something back," I gulped "but you are in essence telling the truth." He pulled a form out and began writing on it in read crayon. "I will over look this, falsehood, this time, and to be truth full Snipy has been itching to leave for a while. Perhaps this sabbatical will be beneficial to him. However," he handed the form to me. "Don't do it again." his voice was hard like a icicle."

"Yes sir." I said honestly.

"Good." he leaned back. "You set out on the marrow? Do you need resupply." he said cheerily rather than his hard voice from less than a second ago.

"No sir. Unless you have backpacks and golf bags."

"We do. Go talk to Naylor, he'll tell you about the armory." I nodded.

"Your dismissed." He said and I saluted and left the room.

I check up on those tomorrow. I walked back.

"Your with me." Naylor nodded. I yawned and looked at the armor.

"Think that will go through a fire fight?"

"No doubt." He picked it up and looked it over. "It very well, repaired. You can't even see the bullet holes.

"There weren't any, captain head shot." he smiled.

"Guilty as charged."

I picked the armor from Naylor's hand and placed it on a box on top of my normal combat armor. I would leave that behind.

"Its best we get some sleep. Tomorrow will be a long day." I sat down on the bed and laid down on it.

And thus ended my first day in the Metro. I had gone from a plane crash, though two stations, met up with the Nazis and encountered a Dark one.

Why were these things never easy?


	14. Chapter 14

_**New chapter. remember review. i love all you people, even you.**_

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><p>The next day we were moving. Over Naylor's shoulder was a gulf bag containing a grimy old AK were the clubs would normally sit. Around it stuff with old paper and a the toped zipped up. The thing had to soak in water before the guns inside got wet.<p>

Naylor had been impressed by the innovation. I pulled Naylor up from the man hole. "You know were Dry is?" I asked he nodded.

"Not far. Follow me." He moved down the street and I moved after him.

As always the city moaned with the wind, a freezing biting chill. Shivering I held my pip boy up and started to thumb though the stations, with a minimum of volume.

Nothing. The air waves were as dead as the city. Very depressing.

"Hay Naylor, are there any radio stations that play music not propaganda?"

"Nope it all bull all the time." He said I sighed. "lovely." Working are way though the frozen roads I paused on the top of a light hill trying to breathe though my gas mask. I was not used to breathing though one.

"Try to take shallow breaths. It make your filters last longer." Naylor said and I thumbed up him.

"So what station you from?" He asked as I tried to catch my breath from slogging up hill, though snow in a gas mask. "Exhibition? Prospect? Market?"

"Mojave." I said.

"What?" he said confused. I took a breath and started to walk again. "Ok, short story. You know of a plane crash recently?" He scoffed.

"Sure. Damn Nazi's are trumpeting the fall of the bomber for any who can hear it, I listened to a radio message on it before we left. Of course the Reds also claim to have brought the sucker down so there's that. Why?"

"I was on it." He stopped walking at looked at me confused for a second.

"What?

"It was not a bomber but a transport." I shrugged. "Can we walk at the same time I need to save my filters?" with a nod we resumed walking.

"So were you form? Saint Pettersburg? Nizhny?"

"America." he stared at me as if I had said the moon.

"America? So wait, you guys still alive?"

"And kicken. Don't need to masks on the surface to live." I tapped mine.

"wow! So your a member of the Enclave!"

"What?" I said confused.

"Every one knows how the Polis radio station found life in the US! How they contacted the Enclave!" he was almost yelling when a roar nearby made us silent.

"keep silent!" I hissed, I knew that much about Moscow already. Heck when something roars nearby your silent, period. No matter were you are.

"And no I'm not a member of the Enclave." I said "I'm a courier, I mostly work for NCR though. New California Republic." I said to his confused look.

"That's, interesting." he said then he went off on a different tangent. "We will talk more, but right now we need to get into dry so shut up about where you from." I nodded.

"Remember you look like a stormtrooper so they may not ask you questions just remember you on a mission form Reich and you need to pack up that should ward the worst of them away." I nodded

"Got it."

"And try not to talk to a officer." Naylor said as a after thought. "You Russian is heavily accented if you have to answer a question just say its Classified." I nodded

We turned a corner into a street that lead to a above ground part of a station. To either side of the door way massive sheets of tanned and stitched together hide was painted red with white dots with big three blade cross on it.

The two of us made are way in though the broken doors. Inside more banners hung on almost any surface they could find. Though more then a few had been gnawed on by some creature or other.

"Now what?" I asked.

"We have to wait for a patrol to come and go. They won't open there doors for any one." I nodded and we moved to the broken escalator and made are way down.

Were were far from the only person there. A second man was beating on the door. "Come on let me in! I am on my last filter I am going to die!" I tapped him on his shoulder and handed him a spare filter I had.

"Thanks!" he said and held it, trying to get as much out of his current filter as he could. The door slide open and Naylor tapped my shoulder as he pressed against the wall, which I followed quickly.

A squad of Nazi made there way out the stations and the three of us, Me, Naylor and the Stalker I assume. To either side of a squad waited for us armed with heavy shot guns.

Seeing me, or rather my Stormtrooper armor they stopped what they were going to do. A officer rapidly moved up from the box he had been sitting in.

"Greetings Herr Stoßtruppen. May I ask what brings you to Dry station?"

"Classified." I crossed my arms. "I'm here to resupply and rearm then I'm back out." _with one extra. I did not add._

The officer nodded. "Very well. If you want access to the military zone though you will need permission from the Oberstleutnant." Note to self, stay away from that guy he likely know enough to see though my disguises.

"Enjoy your stay. Next patrol is back in two hours." I nodded and the two of us, the Stalker was being questioned, enter the station.

"Ok, Naylor, Can I barrow a clip?" he nodded and handed me a clip of military bullets.

"Get me some 7.62 in ten round strippers." I nodded.

"You know this place best look around and find a way to find Anton. He's likely in the military zone. I sell off some of my equipment and met up with you at the local pub." He was about to say something but I was already off. I made my way to the market part. Sliding around a junk seller I was in front of rack of weapons with a seller behind the counter.

"You won't find better rates in the whole metro!" he yelled in a voice that echoed around the station, competing with countless other milling voices and shouting sellers and buyers.

A voice to my left caught my ear. "Bullet exchange!" I nodded I would get some 7.62 from him, but first I needed a new shot gun.

"See something you like?" I nodded. I pointed to a double barrel shot gun.

"Excellent choice, good gun really good." He picked it up. "That would be 25 bullets." I looked at the clip. It was a open side Chinese assault rifle sickle clip. I handed him the clip and he counted out 25 bullets and handed the five bullets back.

"Very you go. That's a deal!"

"Thank you." I put the golf bag over my shoulder on the ground, zip it open and slide the shot gun in. "

"Now that clever." The guy said and I nodded. "Came up with it myself." I slung it back over my shoulder and went to the bullet exchanger. I put the five bullets down.

"How much 7.62 ammo can I get for these?"

"Exchange rate is 3 bullet units to 1." I frowned but did not comment on the bullet units comment. "So that's 15 bullets?"

"Yup."

"I want ten in a stripper clip if you please." He nodded and put ten dull, dirties 7.62 bullets on the table and a few 5.56 dirty rounds. Taking four of the rounds he took them, then slid the ammunition, and change I assume to me. "There you go." I took the clip with a nodded and left to wait for Naylor.

He was just sitting in the bar. Waiting for me.

"Any idea." I said as I sat across for him and put the stripper clip on the table.

"As I was going to say before you interrupted me." He glared at me. "There is only one way into the Dry station miltary zone." He pointed behind me and turned to see a pair of guards standing, well guard to either side of a door. "That's it. Past that door there a a hallway that goes on for seven meters each wall has gun slits so they can spray the whole area with gun fire."

"So how we get in?"

"I assumed you were going to bluff your way in." Naylor said dryly.

"Can't. I don't know enough. For example, whats a bullet unit?" he looked at me like is said the moon was made of cheese.

"You really don't know do you?" I nodded. "A bullet unit is what a military grade bullet equals. So five dirty 5.56, three revolver rounds, 1 arrow, ectra. So if something selling for three bullets units you can give 15 dirty rounds, nine revolver rounds or three arrows." I nodded made sense to me.

"There a back way?" I asked.

"Nope." he said. "no way in save that." I frowned and rubbed my forehead. There had to be a way.

Wait.

That vision that split me away from the rangers. What had the guy on the car said?

"_Your target is a vent in the backyard, that lead to Dry Station."_ the answer seemed to echo in my head.

"I think there is." I said softly then I picked my gas mask form my belt. "I may have a plan."

"May?"

"Its based on a psychotic possible Dark One induced vision but there a fairly good chance it may work."

"Lovely. We have two hours. I want a drink."

"That's it? No questions?" he laughed.

"Kid? After following captain around. Your plan is normal."

SHIFT

We were back at the park where I had met the dark one. I picked up the shot gun I had dropped the day before, seems they had not bothered to pick it up. Looking it over I clicked my bastard to my belt and loaded the shot gun.

Everything else was cleared away, bodys were left by they were stripped of there armor and weapons

"So where here. Where now?" Naylor asked. "I don't know." I looked around. "Follow me." I said and moved though the park where the Nazi had come though. I moved though the hall way, going down some stairs and emerged into the store proper after going around a corner.

A loud clacking noise echoed from out the window. It sounded like a giant insect.

"What is that?" I said raising my shot gun as I moved to the window. Naylor behind me was not worried though and when we looked out the broken window, half blocked with snow, he identified it easily.

"Garden Ribbon."

It was a giant centipede roughly the size of a small car from head to tail tip. It was bunched up like a inch worm, its head and tail practically touching, with long leaf like projections jutting from its back along the hump between making it look a bit like a plant, though the leafs were black and tar color.

"Is it dangerous?" I asked he chuckled.

"Nope. Garden Ribbon feed on the sun. They don't even have mouths." he pointed to the head. "They are very rare in Moscow proper though. I've heard there much more common out in Танкгорода. I've never seen one though."

The Worm seemed to sway back and forth to the wind. It was, peaceful honestly.

I crawled out of the window and looked around the broken street. "Alright let," before I could say another word the Garden Worm took off like a shot. Extending to its full length it skittered off like a bug, its leaves trailing behind it, crawled into a crevice in the street and ducked into a sewage pipe."

"What the fuck just happened?" I asked.

"It must have been threatened by your voice, or presence." Naylor said.

"Ya," I said putting the, Garden Ribbon at the top of my weird creature list, higher then Fire breathing ants. "Any way." I cast a look around. The place was a wreck. Unlike places closer to the station there were no bridges over the rents in the street. Since one way was blocked off with rubble of cars and vans. As such there was only one way to go.

"Alright follow me." We set off down the ruined shattered street. After leaping a gap we heard a flapping noise.

"Demon!" Naylor said and we took off at a right down the street. jumping down into one of the crevices, my pipboy crackling a radiation warning as we ducked into a van.

Panting around my gas mask I looked out to see the Demon sitting on a ledge staring at me though the van open door.

It was the same Daemon I had shot before I could see the broken nose.

The two of us exchanged glares for a moment before it snarled and with a snap of its wings was air born again.

"And I thought Death claws were bad." I said. At least they could not fly!

"You still got a plan bud?" Naylor asked leaning over my shoulder.

"Ya, I." I stopped as another piercing head ache sliced though my head. I was well used to them by now though. After a moment I looked up. Moving up a old subway entrance just ahead of us, was Artyom.

"Now were cooken. follow me." I said and followed Artyom. He cut though a open area, ran from a Demon, and crawled up a snow bank to a open door in a ruined building.

He paused slightly and ducked left though a passage. "Right lets," I took a step, only to hear the click of a lighter some were to my left.

"WATCH OUT!" Naylor grabbed my shoulder and pulled me out of the room just before something exploded behind me.

Rolling down the slope I stood up after a while blinking under my mask as Naylor refitted his.

"What the hell was that a land mine?"

"A post war trip wire." Naylor said and stood up as I brushed snow off myself. "keep a eye out for those and more." I nodded and worked my way back up the top. Just in time to see Artyom cut down a set of stairs. We followed.

"So why are we going this way?"

"Umm, depends. How insane do you want your answer?" I said as I lead us down the stairs.

"I once ended up abducted by aliens. I can take insane." He said almost bored.

"Were following a hallucination to a possible hole in Dry stations defenses." He was silent for a second before he spoke.

"That is screwy. Lead on though." On the bottom of the stairs Artyom moved though pools of water, that judging by my pip boy were still radioactive so we moved quick.

Once out of the ruined building we moved up some ledges and ended up a back way of sorts.

Artyom, and by extension us, were moving toward a stare case when a voice behind us made us jump.

"Don't eat yellow snow!" spinning around came the second guy came up and the two of them made it up. A howl echoed ahead of us. Apparently, it was behind US.

"You hear that." I nodded.  
>"Howlers. A lot of them."<p>

"Possible." Naylor said and I stared at him, changing my filter as I did so.

"Howlers have this trick; a small number can sound like a lot them. It all a matter of pitch." I nodded and moved up the stairs.

"Still let's move fast." I said and it was his turn to nod. On top I looked around the cleared area, it was parking lot. To the right though a fence was knocked down near a opening? A vent!

"I think I see it!" I said, another head ache priced my head and I knew this vision was over. Moving that way I levered myself up and looked in, not only did it seem to be a air duct in, if it was easy to get out of if I was wrong.

"Right then. Give me a boost." I said Naylor pushed me over I tumbled in pulling Naylor in soon after.

We were (likely) in.


	15. Chapter 15

_**Here we go new chapter, and if you play the game you just KNOW whats coming next don't ya?**_

* * *

><p>The way in from this point was a air duct a short duck walk lead us to a pair of air vents. I looked to either side, aside from the occasional patrol pricing the dark with there head lights it was silent and dark.<p>

"Naylor this the right place?" what happened next, was a half minute of squirming, as he moved up to see out the vent.

"Yup. I remember this place. It's Dry stations outer edge. I have spent many a cold night on patrol near the edge. More punishment, then anything else, not like any one could get in."

"Save now." I commented and looked though the grate and watched for a patrol to pass. I worked the grate open and slid out on the left side and held a hand out catching Naylor as he came down. "Right lets.."

A laser dot traversed onto my forehead.

"Hold! Identity your self!" What the fuck? It was dark as pitch? If I could not see where the laser started, I would have no idea any one was there!

"Shit, night vision." Naylor said as he raised his hands.

I had no idea what that was, but I had a good idea.

"Raise you arms or I will shoot!" My hands were near my right hand, near my pipboy. I quickly tapped on vats.

In less then a second I quick drew my revolver, took aim at the red dot and fired once. His gun was blown away, Naylor turned his flashlight on and my second shot blew his skull apart, on second thought I likely destroyed the night vision device, oops.

"Lovely, there goes stealth." Naylor said as alarm bells began to ring and people started to shout. "Give me a boost we can try again latter." I wasn't listening, my Bastard was unhooked from my belt and I chambered the first round.

"Screw that, Naylor cover me, stick to the shadows we have some time before they pin us down to strike while there confused."

"A entire," before Naylor could finish his complaint about just how damn insane this was, I was already in motion. I moved ahead, cut right at first chance and was in the center of the room. A group of Nazi were just getting up from their bunks, my mind went almost mechanical in my shooting.

Kneeling I took aim and fired, short three round bursts.

One, two, three, the man was stumbling back, maybe dead, maybe not, switch targets.

To his left, guy raising shot gun, three round burst, one, two, three, target down. The guy was falling down blood spurting from his chest.

Rotate, three round burst.. there! My pipboy beeped and I pivoted to deal with a ambushers on my right, a Chinese assault rifle tightly clenched in his hands, VATS engaged and I sprayed a four round burst into his head. He slowly slumped down as I shifted back to the still confused squad.

A four round burst of head shots and another guy was down. A bullet cracked over as the VATS wore off.

I stood up and fired a long suppressive burst as I ducked backward behind a wooden target that looked as if it was over 200 years old. I could hear the cries of alarm and I reloaded as bullets rattled over head. A few hit the target board and ended up going though.

"Great job." I thought to myself. "You hid behind the one thing they spend all their time shooting at!"

"Where are you Naylor." I hissed. By now my companions, Boone, Arcade, Veronica, they all got how I did fights. Which was plunge in as fast as freaking possible, after picking as many off at long range as I could. Naylor on the other hand did not.

The rapid banging of Naylor's SKS and the crys of pain it caused drew a smile to my face. Now that the tide of lead had stopped, I stood out form my cover and rattled a burst at them. I stopped when the shooting stopped and I ducked back down to be careful.

Still I heard Naylor rifle bang a few more times. Then an odd pinging noise, like metal on cement. His stripper clip?

Seeming to think we were reloading a enemy trooper jumped over a barrier, only to get a rifle shot though his chest to the trouble.

For a moment it was silent, relatively mind you, people were still yelling, bells ringing but no one was shooting nearby. Standing up, I carefully moved forward, yelling over my shoulder. "Naylor, cover me!" I was pretty sure I heard him say I was insane.

Standing over the dead troops I quickly flashed my hands though their pockets, shoveling ammunition into my own, I'll look though it latter, but now I was in combat.

Lastly I locked my bastard to my hip, and grabbed a Nazi Chinese assault rifle and more than a few clips. I check the loaded mag, the poor bastard had not had a chance to shoot it yet so it was full.

"Right Naylor next move! Where would a Ranger be found?" the former Nazi jogged up, checking a prison box I had missed on the way up, it was empty.

"Ok. Two things. Pasted there," he pointed a head to a choke point ahead. " A ranger would likely be in the officers quarters be interrogated. You could likely pick some guys off from up there." He gestures with his head to a ladder.

"There's normally not that many people here. But, now that they think there is a squad back here, and lets be honest thats basically what we just did to them." He gestured to the seven dead Nazis. "There hold up and wait for us to go to them. We can go over them and pick them off from above if you're as good a sniper as you say your are."

"Lovely, secondly?" I said as I unlocked the rifle magazine and slid it into the golf bag, along with two of its friends and a couple more bastards.

"Secondly, your insane." I chuckled.

"Ya normally I move a around a bit more. How common are those night vision things?"

"Not very, I'm quite surprised an ass end guard had one."

"Right, cover the that exit. I'm going up." he nodded and I moved to the look out post and moved up the ladder, behind me the sharp crack of Naylor SKS echoed as he picked off some incoming Nazis.

I have got to get me one of those things. I stood up at the top small watch tower. A guy was slumping over the edge, a tight grouping of bullet holes over his chest. Naylor I suppose.

Drawing my revolver, I shot the light out and was plunged into total darkness.

I took the guys scoped assault rifle and slide it back into my golf bag, already it was getting heavy. Idly one of of Arcade's dismissive comments flashed though my head. "I've never seen any one with faster hands."

I poked my head out of the wooden platforming. Roughly ten guys were glaring behind sand bags at the door way. Propping my rifle on the wooden guard rail I took aim, a squad leader in special armor, the rifle banged the muzzle flash flaring though the dark temporary lighting up the dark.

In less then a second the mans head exploded. Before I had to move, I activated VATS and fired again, and again. The bolt clattering loudly just in front of my face.

Two more head exploded and I was already dodging left as bullet twanged and cracked though the space I had just occupied.

Suddenly a man stood in-front of me, a rifle lowered in my direction, a set of night vision goggles on his head. I did not have time to aim.

I fired once, the muzzle flash blinding him ruining his night vision and leaving him blinking in pain, I think. My rifle butt jabbed in to his stomach and I forced him over the edge of the railing and he fell down, dead? I don't know. But he was not getting up right away. I moved forward as the Nazis, seeing my muzzle flash opened fire spraying the area with wild shots. went toward me.

The rapid banging seemed to tell me Naylor was throwing his weight into the fight. I ducked down crunching under the wooden siding as bullet blared though it.

At the end of the cat walk I jumped down, rolled then scanned for targets, there!

I thumbed Vats on again, my muscles hyper changed, as time slowed and my movements grew more precise then a watch makers fingers.

One shot, a head exploded, two shots, a head exploded ,three shots, a head exploded, four shots? The VATS lasting that long surprised me, so I only got a body shot due to me not aiming well.

Still four down. There was a good reason Legion though I had a sprite sitting on my shoulder, or rather on my wrist.

I shoulder my mosin nagant sliding the leather strap up my arm and over my shoulder in one smooth move. Filling the void in my hands I drew my Bastard.

Enter a sort of iron cage around the door way I slid the door open and entered.

Naylor had said rangers would be 'interrogated' a nice euphemism for torture.

Anton, I assume it was him, was hanging from a pair of shackles set into the wall. He was covered in his own blood and what seemed to be rock salt was dabbled into every cut, and the less said about the chunks of blood flesh that were once feet and hands the better.

While I was stunned by this, the officer turned to face me. He did not have a drop of blood on his uniform, though plenty on his knife.

"What is it Herr Stoßtruppen?" wait, he did not know what had happened? I leaned back and looked at the walls. Very thick. Must be to keep the screams in.

"Sir! The station has been invaded!'

"What!" He said. "By who?" He was moving to grab a weapon when I spoke.

"Me." He turned, his face a look of confusion, I put a bullet into his face blowing his brains over the wall.

"Get in!" Naylor said shoving me and locking the door behind me.

"There's a whole army of fucking Nazis behind me!"

"I thought you said there were a few!" I said back.

"So did I!" he said back. He looked at Anton.

"Poor bastard, Natrons just about the nastiest thing they can do to you. Must have really of held off."

I walked over the barely breathing man.

"Anton! You," the word OK seemed so rude when a mans been tortured. "alive?"

The man coughed blood. "Not for long." He said. My respect for rangers went up all the way to the top. "He learned nothing. I held out all the way." I nodded that was all that could be asked for.

"Does the bastard have my Dog tag?" I nodded and check the dead officer. I pulled a dog tag with lighting bullets emblazoned with a skull.

"Not any more." I said. Idly I was aware of Naylor proping his back to the heavy door as the Nazis tried to break it down.

"Hate to break a touching moment, but hurry the hell up!"

"Find Kuzma, he can get it to my family in Forge station."

I nodded "I will."

"Good." he seemed to lean back slightly. "Kill me." I blinked.

"What?"

"Kill me. I won't be taken again and I can't walk." I half turned to Naylor who shuddered as the door shook.

"We don't have time! You don't have much of a choice." he said softer.

I looked back to Anton and with a heavy heart, I propped my revolver to the side of his head, fought my instinct to not pull the trigger for a second, and fired.

He died instantly, painlessly. I ran back to Naylor and slammed a spare shot gun into a pair of braces where a cross bar would go.

"Is there a way out?"

Naylor wiped some sweet of his forehead.

"No.. Yes." he said a look of fear, panic and worry crossed his face all at once and he jogged to the back of the station. "There's a old tunnel that goes from Dry to Cursed and it more then lives up to its name.

He opened the door and I followed him to the tunnel.


End file.
